The Monsters in her Dreams
by TwilightAddiction6
Summary: Charlie Stewart's recurring nightmares started the night before she first met The Doctor when she was 5. Now, he's back again..twelve years too late&he's ready to save her from the shadows before it's too late. Can he really save her or..is he too late?
1. Preface

The Monsters in her Dreams

The young Girl shifted uncomfortably in her bed, whimpering as she moved around. She was having them dreams again, the same nightmares that this young Child always had when she went to sleep at night

She was having the same nightmares about the same monsters and the horrors that they brought with them, disturbing any chance of Charlie's peaceful night sleep. It was about the same monsters that hide in her bed, and in the shadows, daring her to step closer and face her demons.

But little seven years old Charlie was too scared to do no such thing and confront her fears. She didn't want to have to face the monsters because that would mean confronting her own horrors dead on.

And despite it all, Charlie didn't feel as terrified as she used to anymore.

She knew the monsters were there in her bedroom, waiting for her so they could pounce, but…no, Charlie was not scared.

Ever since she was five years old, she'd had the same dreams and nightmares about the same monsters in her room; the terror they brought her and the awful, sickening feeling they brought with them.

But also…they brought another person into the dream, a person who Charlie had dreamt about since she was just five years old, continuously dreaming about him and his guaranteed return one day, ever since that very fateful day.

No, Charlie was not scared of the monsters; not scared of them at all.

Because she knew that as she seeped deeper into these horrors of nightmares, there would always be one person in every single nightmare that would come and rescue her; one person who was always there for her in her dreams, no matter what.

Yes, he might not have been real to everyone else, but to Charlie, he was her invisible friend. One that she'd had since she was five years old and these nightmares had begun. He was like her best friend in these dreams.

He was always there to save her from these monsters, always there to protect her, guard her and be there for her when she needed protection from a friend, from the one person she could always trust in the lucid nightmares of hers.

And his name?

The Doctor.

***


	2. Normality

**Normality**

Charlie POV

My alarm buzzed noisily in the background as I woke up at seven AM sharp, ready for another day of work. I sighed quietly to myself, and rolled over in bed, catching the alarm with my hand and turning it off instantly.

I forced myself to sit up properly in bed, feeling a little woozy at first because of how fast I had managed to sit up straight. I ran my fingers through my thick, brown locks and tugging slightly as I pulled it back roughly with my hands.

For a second, I sat and thought to myself before I got up; pondering over last night's nightmares that I'd had again. It was the same nightmares as every single night of course; the ones with the monsters and the shadows, and the horror they brought me, and then also…The Doctor.

I sighed happily as I remembered the nightmare to myself now; remembering how he'd came and rescued me like my knight in shining armour. Because that's exactly what The Doctor was like; he was just like some amazing superhero I'd invented.

But of course I knew that he was real; I had met him once, a long, long time ago when I was just five years old, and I didn't care how many times people called me mad…I knew he was real. I knew deep inside my heart that he was real.

I forced my feet to move and pulled them from the bed, right onto my bedroom carpet. My feet automatically found my slippers from where I had thrown them off from the night before, and I lazily trudged off to take a shower.

I put on a casual tee with the perfect slogan on, jeans and white converses and made my way downstairs where I threw some pop tarts into the toaster and made a cup of tea whilst I waited in the kitchen.

I knew Aunt Marie would still be in bed at this time in the morning, so I hurried whilst easting my breakfast, feeling no need to wake her up as it was only another normal day and I'd see her later, after work.

I grabbed the house keys and my mobile from the kitchen counter after hurriedly brushing my teeth, and made my way out the front door to go to work.

I walked into the town centre as it was only about a five minutes walk from my house, and the town centre really wasn't that busy at all in small town Spalding. In fact, I wasn't even sure if people outside Leicestershire had heard of the city.

I looked up at the small toy shop on the corner; the place I worked every Saturday and Sunday for two, whole years now. I only worked weekends as I went to a college in Peterborough, studying a Performance Arts course.

The shop had remained the same, and it had always looked the same since it was first opened when I was just five years old. It was now a grand age of twelve years, but it was still the best toy shop in Spalding.

Tyler's Toy Store had a very original ring to it considering it was actually the only toy shop available in Spalding. Its brown wooden door and sign frame, with a creaky door and cobwebbed-edged windows gave a touch of classy, old-fashioned feel to the shop and I loved working here, even though my dreams wished I was somewhere else too.

I headed into the store then, knowing Tyler would be opening up the store already, as he had a very; 'he sooner we open, the keener we keep 'em!' sort of view on life, and Children and old sort of fashioned toys.

I was right about Tyler of course; he was there behind the counter, like every weekend morning, getting the till ready for another day of 'service to the community' as Taylor would like to call it himself.

I walked further into the small shop, taking in all the old fashioned toys that we had in here. Of course, not all the toys were old fashioned, but most of them was; Tyler liked to keep the old fashioned and traditional feel to the shop as much as possible.

"Hey Tyler," I smiled as I made my way round the till whilst he counted the money out in his hands, and put it back in the till again.

"Hey Charlie, and how are you on this wonderful, sunny morning?" He asked me joyfully and this wasn't exactly a surprise for Tyler. He was one of the happiest Person's I knew…not that I knew too many people, but still.

"I'm great thanks…what about yourself?"

"Oh you know me…as happy as ever." He grinned, winking at me before going back to putting the money back into the till.

I smiled in response, welcoming the happy feeling I got coming over me now that I was in Tyler's company. He had that effect on people, to make them feel happy and welcome in here and that was one of the reasons why I didn't mind working here for him.

I set my bag down in the back room of the shop behind the till, before making my way back out and preparing myself for yet another day of work. Of course I didn't mind being here because it was always such a laugh with me and Tyler, but…I had dreams too.

I wanted to travel the world one day; in fact…I wanted to do two things.

I hoped to see the whole of the World and I also hoped to become an actress. But I guess I had to pretty much choose one or the other as I couldn't actually do both and because I was on the Performing Arts course already and acting was my life...I guess I'd pretty much made up my mind anyway.

Of course the day started slowly as usual, it always did because it was such a small toy shop. But as the day got going, more customers came in, and Tyler and I served them with the winning smile that Tyler always used to make others feel a lot more cheerful.

It was just his smile actually; he was always so happy.

My heart pounded up a gear, soaring up in speed as the next customer came in…someone who I shouldn't have been so happy to see, not like that anyway. He'd made it perfectly obvious he just wanted to be my friend now, anyway.

"Hiya Callum," I smiled politely as he walked through the door.

He had his usual gear on; a grey sweatshirt with blue jeans and grey plimsolls and he really wasn't the best looking Guy in town either, even with the lack of population in Spalding.

But when I fell for him; I fell for him bad, but because we were on the same course and both needed to concentrate on our work…it fell through.

He had very light brown hair, almost with a touch of slight blonde to it, which he had been growing out for months now to look like a certain person on television. A certain person who happened to be in my dreams every night, and a certain person who only I knew was actually real.

I sighed contently as I thought about him again.

"Hello Charlie," Callum replied with the usual over-done happiness. The main thing was that he looked happy because I wouldn't have wanted him to be sad and down about us, and we were friends too which made it a lot easier, but…there was always that ounce of pain there whenever I thought about him too much.

"I take it you popped in for the usual sort's of toys? Anything in particular you're after today?" I asked him with a laugh, knowing exactly what toys he always got. I mean yes…he was eighteen I had to admit, but he was very much into the Doctor Who figurines and stuff.

Only I knew that he was real.

"Urm…I just have a couple more to collect…I also need to get the Cyberman one again. I can't seem to find the one I brought." He explained sadly, as though he had lost his most treasured item he had. And I knew to him, it was like that.

"Well you know where they're set out by now." I laughed, nodding my head to the corner of the shop.

He laughed too, because we both knew that that was very true. He came in here so often; almost every weekend actually, just to collect this memorabilia. I was so tempted to tell him the truth about The Doctor sometimes, to tell him what I knew, but I wasn't sure if he'd believe me.

It was funny to see people getting so into a series, into a Doctor who didn't even look anything like the one I remembered so clearly. Nothing like him at all; for starters he didn't have big ears, or a lack of hair, and he certainly didn't wear a leather jacket.

I tried to fight a smile in response to my thoughts, but Callum caught me smiling to myself before I could pretend that I wasn't doing it.

"Something funny?"

"You could say that…but don't worry, it's not you with your Doctor Who toys." I joked, making him laugh easily in response.

"I'd understand if it is…I mean, it's silly really; an eighteen year old Guy collecting Doctor Who figurines, but I don't care." He confessed with a shrug of his shoulders. Little did he know how un-silly it was, because of the due fact that the very Man was real.

"I don't think you should care either…not in my opinion anyway. If you like something, you like something…of course I stop at the twilight figurines with my obsession, but…" I trailed off, laughing as I said it.

"Yeah, I know I probably take it a step too far with collecting doctor who figurines too, but…I don't care!" He grinned triumphantly, his happiness shining through easily. He really was very happy, and I was glad but…

Yep, there was that shot of pain shooting through my heart due to the fact that I still wanted him to be happy with me. But I didn't much mind…love was painful and I'd rather forever love them and be a part of their life, facing the pain that goes with it, rather than not have it at all and be alone.

"Good." I replied simply, swallowing the rather large lump that had managed to get stuck in my throat.

Tyler came out from the back then, saving me any more embarrassment as Callum went to get his toy from the very back of the shop, where all the doctor who toys stood on shelves and stacks full of them.

"Morning Callum," Tyler boomed cheerfully to him as he searched through the rack of toys, to try and find the one he wanted.

"Morning Tyler and how are you on this wonderful day?" His happiness brought me so sorrow…not that I'd ever tell him that. Because I already knew how selfish that was; it was way too selfish, and I had no right feeling like it either.

"I'm very well thank you, and what about you, Mr. Pepper?" He asked back with the same enthusiasm as Callum could always muster up.

"I'm brilliant thank you; just brilliant! The sun is shining, the birds are singing in the trees, and…" he trailed off, picking up the Cyberman packet right at the end of the aisle and walking back to the till with a huge smile on his face. "I have my Cyberman figurine back."

My chest felt tighter, heavier with the exhaustion I was so used to feeling, but I blocked it all away, and smiled in response. At least it wasn't about a Girl yet; at least his excitement, his happiness was just about a toy.

It gave me time to deal with this pain, to try and get over him some more, and it also gave me time to be friends with him too.

Tyler laughed in response, nudging my elbow once, as Callum got to the till.

"Yes, it's a lovely day today…I'll let my co-worker scan that for you." Tyler announced proudly, making me smile as I scanned the packet and put it in a small, Tyler's Toy Store plastic bag to give to him.

"That will be…five pounds please."

Callum nodded, getting his money out to pay for the figurine.

"But…as you're our finest, and most long running customers, we're going to let you have it for three." Tyler interfered, surprising me. I looked at him confused, because we'd never done this with anyone else before and we didn't necessarily have that much money to the point that we could do that sort of thing.

"But-"

"But I'm sure we could make allowances seems as though Callum does shop in here nearly every single week." Tyler interrupted me.

"Are you sure? I don't mind paying full price."

"No, no…I insist." Tyler smiled.

I took the three pounds from Callum and put it in the till, putting the receipt in the bag too. "Receipt's in the bag…have a nice day." I forced an awkward smile, feeling the pain starting to wrap around me again.

"Charlie…I was wondering if…maybe we could go out some time…just for a drink…as friends? I just know that the college has a half term this week, and the whole of the Performing Arts group have got the week off-"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." I didn't mean to be rude and interrupt him, but the way he put it, even when he said as friends made it sound like there was something more in it. And I didn't want to go down that road again…

"Oh…I see."

"No, look…alright, it's not as if I don't want to, it's just that…I have assignments to finish off this week, I have them Shakespeare lines to learn too, and erm…well, I just have a lot on my plate at the minute………….maybe some other time."

Callum nodded, some sort of a hopeful smile lightening up his face. "Yeah alright then," he agreed easily, before turning with his bag and leaving the store.

I felt bad that I couldn't just say yes, but…it wouldn't be with me getting my hopes up. And we all knew he wanted to be just friends with me and if I still needed time…I didn't want to take a risk right now.

Of course Tyler didn't say anything in response to my conversation with Callum in the shop; he never would be rude and get involved like that. And he even let me finish half an hour earlier to go home, as the shop was empty again.

Of course…Aunt Marie had something to say about that though.

"You're going to end up pushing that Lad away, you know." She frowned at me in pity as we sat at the kitchen table, eating my favourite; spaghetti bolognaise. I had the meat-free version, as I was a Vegetarian.

I sighed heavily, because it was alike my Aunt Marie to get involved like she does, she always did get involved in everything. I knew it was only because she cared about me, but it was a little annoying nevertheless.

"I didn't dump him." I reminded her calmly, forking my spaghetti lazily as I waited for Marie's response to that. I knew she would only tell me to make an effort with him, make friends with him and see where things go, but it wasn't as if even just one of us weren't busy.

We were both busy now; both enjoying actually getting somewhere on our performing arts courses.

"Yes, but it seemed to me like he could be making all the effort with you. He's a nice Guy, and he often asks if you're alright whenever I bump into him in town."

"He's just being friendly Aunt Marie." I sighed, getting up with my plate and binning the last of the spaghetti so I could quickly get away from the questions and assumptions that Aunt Marie often made.

"No he isn't Charlie! The lad obviously still cares about you a lot…all I'm saying is don't push him away. I made the same mistake with Arthur all them years ago……just take it slow. You're both very busy people."

"Exactly, we are busy-"

"So why don't you just give him a chance? Just…agree to go out with him…talk it out…see how it goes." She begged me, desperate for me to say yes to the idea and come round to it. I sighed in response.

"Fine," I forced myself to agree, placing my plate in the bowl and heading off to my bedroom before she could stop me. "I'm going to bed, I feel really tired…speak to you in the morning……love you." I gasped out as I headed to my bedroom quickly.

"Night sweetheart," she replied quietly, not stopping me going to bed even though it was only about nine at night. Truth was that I did feel tired really though, so that wasn't technically a lie either.

Of course I knew I'd probably get the same nightmares tonight in my sleep; I was lucky if I didn't have the nightmares every single night, but as I got changed into my casual joggers to sleep in, I felt happy about that.

Because the same person would be in them nightmares; rescuing me, killing the monster, saving the day as he always did.

The Doctor.

***

I liked Sundays, I always enjoyed waking up and knowing it was a Sunday morning. Because Sunday's were peaceful, quiet, and it was always usually quite empty in the toy shop in Sunday's…apart from when Callum often popped in of course.

I got myself up and ready to work as usual, getting changed into a blue dress with leggings and a pair of black, flip on shoes before I hurried off to work, giving my Aunt Marie a kiss on the cheek as I hurried.

It was another quiet day in the shop, empty as usual and at the very same time as usual; Callum popped his head round the door, wearing similar clothes as yesterday and his hair looking even wilder than usual.

"Hey Charlie," he smiled and waved awkwardly at me first, like how he always did when he came in here before smiling at Tyler and saying hello to him. Tyler made easy chat with him like how Tyler always could, but then Callum was quick to get back to talking to me again.

"So how are you today?" He asked me, watching me warily; almost as though I might burst into tears or something at any second. It had been four months since me and Callum broke up, but I was done crying about small things like that.

"I'm good today actually," I smiled, remembering last night's nightmare loosely in my head. It was different this time, so much better than the other dreams. I dreamt that at the very end of it, I travelled with him, The Doctor of course.

"That's good."

"How are you?" I asked.

"I'm fine…….I was just wondering if maybe….look, no it don't matter-"

"I'd like to go for that drink……..if you were obviously going to ask that." I added, feeling like a bit of an idiot now that I had rushed that out. Because there wasn't even a guarantee that he was going to ask me that but I just genially presumed that he was going to.

A smile brightened up his face, a smile I hadn't seen on his face for ages….a very long time actually.

"Oh…are you sure? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to-"

"I'd love to." I interrupted him, before I could stop this from happening. I wanted to see him often, as a friend, so here was my chance.

"Okay, so erm…maybe…see you tomorrow?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay then…I'll see you tomorrow."

"You will." I replied with an easy smile, now that was done and all sorted with, out of the way. No more pressure from aunt Marie.

"He's a good lad, him." Tyler commented quietly from besides me after Callum headed out of the shop. It was unusual to him to make a comment about something and get involved in something, but I had to agree.

"Yeah…yeah, he's a good friend." I commented awkwardly, clearing my throat quietly as I grabbed a handful of toys to stack back onto the shelves, and headed round the other side of the counter.

"Just a friend?"

"Of course."

"Maybe he needs reminding of that…I've seen the way he looks at you." Tyler pressed on, making me feel a little surprised. Because he didn't usually make such comments as the ones he was making.

"Don't be silly." I laughed awkwardly, heading behind the shelves to put the latest hello kitty and superman toys back up on the shelves, thankful for it being in the way of my face so that Tyler couldn't see the awkwardness on my face.

"I'm serious: I've never seen him so happy as the way he was with you."

"Yeah, well that was then."

"Maybe, but you don't look at someone as if they're the very reason for your existence…….I mean, maybe I'm going a little overboard-"

"Yep, you are Tyler." I laughed awkwardly.

"But…Callum has never been so happy than when he was with you. He's looking a little….down lately." Tyler commented anxiously, pressing the subject of the matter on. I just placed the toys back onto the shelved quietly, and pressed on with my job without so much as another comment to that.

I went home at the usual time of six, making up a pasta bake for me and Aunt Marie, and telling her about my chat with Callum as we ate. Of course she was thrilled; she'd only met Callum once whilst we had been dating, but she instantly kept commenting about how nice he was.

I reminded her several times throughout our conversation about how it was just going to be two friends going for a drink, but of course she didn't listen to a word I said about that. Because she had seen how happy Callum originally had made me, and she had it in her head that he could do it again.

I just agreed to what she said with an awkward smile, and went to my bedroom to get an early night. It was no offence to my Aunt Mimi, but I wanted to escape to my dreams whenever she kept going on about Callum.

And escape to my dreams…well, I did just that.

Except……………..it wasn't like the other dreams again. My dreams had changed for the second time, changing to reality; a flashback of my fifth birthday, when my Mum and me were still together.

You see Aunt Mimi wasn't actually my Aunt, but I called her that because she was like my Aunt. My real Mother gave me up when I was six, because I kept hitting my Brother. He said The Doctor wasn't real and that I was crazy.

Of course I knew he was real, so three adoptive Parents later, and I had found Aunt Mimi. I decided it would be best if I didn't tell her about The Doctor, otherwise I would have been called insane again and sent to speak to yet another specialist.

So this time, my best friend was my little secret.

***


	3. The Doctor

**The Doctor**

Charlie sat and waited for her Mum to come back from the shops where she had gone to get Charlie a birthday present. Of course, having been Charlie's fifth birthday today, she thought her Mum already had her present…but no.

And it wasn't very unusual for her Mum to forget either…she always seemed to forget everything these days. And Charlie was more than used to the hundred times her Mother put her mobile in the microwave and cooked it, having not realized she'd done so.

She was sat on the garden swing right at the end of their long, wide garden. They was lucky to have such a beautiful house and garden, and having no friends, Charlie often enjoyed sitting out in the garden alone and gently swinging on the wooden, garden bench she had helped her older Brother make when she was four.

She swung her legs loosely from back to forth, waiting and waiting for her Mother to come home with her present whilst Charlie took in the beauty of their back garden; filled with apple trees, and tulips and roses.

The grass was long and wild, but Charlie liked the way her garden look, especially in night-time like this, with the sparkling stars shining down on her.

Charlie always wanted to see the stars someday. And someday, somehow…she knew it would happen. She had faith that she would travel one day, see the stars like how she always dreamed to.

She may not have had any friends, but Charlie didn't need any friends.

She liked being able to sit around and think properly, by herself. She liked the silence, the peacefulness, the relaxation of it.

Charlie looked around confused, hearing a small but very definite whooshing noise beginning to be heard. She looked about all over the garden; her long, straight, dark brown hair swinging loosely from her shoulder in the wind, her wide, brown eyes searching everywhere in the dark garden.

Gradually, the noise got louder and Charlie's eyes settled on the very back of the garden, just behind her where a blue object started to appear. A box…an actual blue box started to appear, shocking her.

"It cant be!" She gasped in shock, getting up from the swing and taking in the blue box that started to appear in front of her very eyes. The whooshing noise was furiously loud by now-so loud that it almost hurt Charlie's ears a little bit as the box became a clear solid right in front of her eyes-and there was no denying that the sound was definitely coming from this mysterious box.

Suddenly the blue box stopped moving, the whooshing silencing automatically, and Charlie could finally see what sort of box it actually was. Along the top, the words; The_Police Phone Call Box_ were written, confusing Charlie.

She had never seen a call box before, and she knew they had been popular a long while ago in the fifties and sixties. So…why in 1992 was there one right in her very garden? And where the hell had it come from!

It had just came from nowhere; Charlie had seen it with her very own eyes and as she rubbed her eyes and looked again, she knew there was no way that she could have been dreaming about this.

She had had a dream about a blue box last night…but it was nothing alike this, and it was in the 60's, dreaming about a young man who wore funny bow ties, and had pretty hair, and a dark haired lady who was very pretty and was his companion.

Even though the box had stopped though…it was like time had frozen.

There was no noise anymore, there was nothing. Just Charlie stood in front of this strange box, without it moving or making any other strange noise.

She took a chance; shyly stepping forward with careful hesitation at first, before stepping forward again with more determination, getting closer to the box. She stepped around her swing, stepping right in front of the box and looking up at it with a careful curiousness.

It looked so amazing; like something you saw in old movies, except to Charlie…it looked so much more amazing, so much more real.

She gasped in fright as the right door suddenly swung open, expecting a horrid monster to pop one of its four headed heads to pop round the door, and terrify the young, scared five year old Charlie.

But…nothing seemed to happen.

For what could have been minutes or hours, Charlie stood there, waiting for a monster to come out and come and get her or something…and then suddenly it happened…………………

Charlie's small body jumped back in shock, a gasp coming flying out of her as she tripped on her own feet as a Man's face popped round the door.

_It was him! It was actually the Man she had dreamt about last night…finally here! _She shouted to herself in her head; her dark brown eyes instantly widening in shock and alarm. She thought he hadn't been real.

And he looked exactly like how she had imagined him in her dream; with the blue bow tie, the chequered, grey jacket, the blue shirt, and navy blue trousers with black shoes…and the same face too.

It was the same Man with pale skin, mesmerizing green eyes, and the messy, light brown hair too.

His eyes were curious; alight with the emotion as he took a long look around the garden…and then straight back to the small Charlie again. He wasn't smiling; his face was dead serious as he finally stepped around the box, and stepped just outside of it.

Charlie watched him with extreme curiosity as he kept his eyes on her, watching her with a look that a Father might give to a young Child when they are in trouble. This itself made Charlie look away in terror, wondering if she was actually in trouble and why, too of course.

"You there…what year is it?"

"1992." Charlie shot back instantly, letting her eyes find the Man's face again curiously to see why he wanted to know such a strange, random question.

He nodded, finally a smile lightening up the whole of his face. A smile so bright, so kind that it actually made Charlie smile with him too. She wasn't sure what it was about this Man, but…she liked his smile.

"Ah yes…the twenty first century! The best century to be in……would I be correct to guess this was London?" He asked the young Girl smugly, the lucid grin still on his face.

"Ur…sort of…it's just over a hundred miles from London. It's Peterborough actually."

"Oh…I should get going in that case…." he said, starting to walk back into the box in a hurry. "I have a show to see-"

"WAIT!" Charlie had to stop this strange Man from leaving again; he was curious, a little funny and…for some reason, Charlie found herself wanting to get this strange Man to talk again. She had been brought up not to talk to strangers of course, but then, he had just randomly landed in the back of her garden and he didn't exactly look like any other random stranger.

He turned, spinning around in surprise and letting them green eyes fall on the small Girl's face again. She didn't know what to say to get him to stay any longer, so she said the first thing that came into her head.

"Urm…do you fancy some chips? We….have good chips in the freezer." She stuttered out awkwardly, and her heart did a funny little boom in her chest when that same lucid grin lightened up his face.

"Chips? Chips are good."

She skipped back through the garden, whilst the strange Man followed just behind her, asking her a number of important questions as they headed back to the garden. Like her age, and whether she trusted any random stranger she bumped into.

Of course her answer was no.

"Of course not silly…but you don't exactly come across as a normal, random stranger if you don't mind me saying?" She checked, just to make sure that the answer hadn't come across as rude to this Man.

"Well yeah, you'd be right about that." He seemed to force himself to agree.

Charlie skidded to a stop on the edge of her garden, spinning round on the spot to face the strange Man again and ask him the most important question which she had totally forgotten to ask.

"I'm Charlie Stewart by the way."

He smiled; not a crazy, lucid smile this time. It was a kind, welcoming smile. "Charmed, Miss Stewart. I'm The Doctor…and I imagine you've never met a person quite like me before!" He grinned that crazy looking grin again, winking at her as he walked around her, and straight into the house whilst Charlie happily followed him, skipping contently as the two made oven chips from the freezer.

And Charlie and The Doctor talked more about this strange Man and his adventures in what he called his TARDIS.

***


	4. Trust

**Trust**

Charlie POV

It was still dark when I woke up in the morning, and I already knew what was happening before I had even fully woke up. It was probably around midnight, not much later that that I doubted, and I could already hear the noises again.

It had happened last night too; scratching noises, seeming to get louder and louder, closer and closer. Like somebody fighting to get out, to be freed, to be found. I squeezed my eyes shut tight together, hating the sound of it.

There was too much pain in that one noise, and in my little, small bedroom, I hadn't a clue where it was coming from. If I could help, I would have but being so terrified of the shadows…what was under my bed…I often hid away from it like the coward I was.

And somewhere along in the sleepiness, the noise practically rocked me back to sleep, and then I slept right through to morning again…

I got dressed in a chequered dress, having a shower and making breakfast for me and Aunt Marie in the morning. Callum was due to be around later to pick me up but I hardly imagined he would be there at spot on twelve, ready for a drink and possibly some lunch.

But he was.

"You're a little…early?" I questioned him as I opened the door to see him standing there, looking very happy with himself. Oh, and possibly a little over the top too. He was wearing a nice, blue shirt for once, with black trousers and black shoes.

It was very unusual for him to look so nice.

"I was around in the neighbourhood…I thought I'd stop by and see if you was ready now." He admitted, trying to play it casual but failing instantly. And I couldn't help but laugh, because he was already in the neighbourhood anyway.

We both lived in Spalding, and that was possibly the smallest town city in England.

"Callum, we both live in Spalding…what are the chances of that?" I joked, with an easy laugh, just messing around with him really.

He smiled awkwardly, possibly realizing how corny it had sounded.

"Yeah, you have a point." He forced himself to admit in agreement, running a hand through the top of that awkwardly messy hair and smiling shyly in response. I laughed again, before I could stop myself.

"Ah, you do make me laugh." I joked, before shouting out to Aunt Marie that I was going now. Of course she was only too happy to wish I have a good time and see me later, making me roll my eyes in response.

I shut the door behind us, and followed him out into the garden, past the back gate at the very end of the garden. It was silent for a moment, a little awkward too before we got to his car just outside the gates.

"You look…nice, by the way." Callum commented as lightly as possible, as we got into the small Mini he had managed to buy with his college funds that he had saved up from weekly college EMA.

"Thank you, you look…different." I wasn't sure how else to put it; different was definitely a right word to use, I imagined. Because I wasn't used to him looking so smart, but he did look nice like that too.

"Yeah, I…thought I'd try a new look." He explained as he walked round to the driver's side, and got in whilst I fiddled with my seatbelt busily to occupy myself as he got into the car. I had never driven with Callum before, but I imagined him to be a good driver.

"It suits you." I commented, looking him up quickly once more, before he started to drive. He did look good though; the look suited him, and he had every right to make use of his college funds.

He worked hard to get where he had done, and I imagined that it wouldn't be very long until Callum was some kind of a famous actor or performer in a show. He was so talented that it really wouldn't be a surprise to me when he got his big break.

That was also one of the reasons why me and Callum even split up in the first place. He was a very determined Guy, determined to get somewhere in his career, to make something of himself.

That was the one thing that I adored about him.

His determination, his faith and devotion to his career, to get somewhere in the acting fields was something to admire.

Of course, as he parked up in town, there wasn't really a lot of places to go too, and I imagined us going to somewhere like Wimpy or McDonalds, rather than somewhere nice in Spalding, because I didn't even think there was one single nice restaurant in the city.

It didn't bother me too, because it was cheap enough in both restaurants and McDonald's always had a vegetarian burger for me to eat with a packet of crisps.

But you could imagine my surprise when Callum walked us across to the newest restaurant to open in Spalding; one that looked really posh, had fancy marble flooring, and people sat there in black suits and fancy dresses.

I looked down at myself, feeling so embarrassed now.

All I had on was a casual, summer dress with black converses, and that wasn't exactly very restaurant style wear.

"I thought we were…just having a drink out?" I asked Callum hesitantly, feeling so embarrassed to have to walk through them doors like this.

He just smiled, holding the door open for me. "Thought I'd make the effort for once." He replied with easy casualness, making me roll my eyes in response.

"More like show off." I mumbled under my breathe quietly.

"What?"

"Oh nothing," I smiled, forcing myself to go through the door, despite how posh everyone looked. I looked a right mess compared to everyone else, but then, I guess it didn't really matter if we were _just_ having a drink.

He booked a table for two, and I followed him over to a side table, which was perfectly fine with me as it was away from everyone else. I ordered a soft drink, but nothing else, same as how he did.

It was good to see that he kept to his promise off just a drink, rather than adding food to the meeting too. I could have called it a date, but that just sounded…too personal for me. It was just two friends having a drink at lunchtime.

Yes, it was exactly that.

"So how's the Shakespeare lines getting along?" Callum asked me curiously, pulling at the top of his hair as he took a sip of his diet coke.

"Urm…yeah, good," I replied casually, only just realizing that Callum had done this sort of thing all before. He was on the third level of Performing Arts, the BTEC diploma, and I was on the level one course, something Callum had achieved a year ago.

"Are you finding the coursework hard? I know that erm…when I first started the course, it was a lot for me to take on at the time. The diploma course is a lot more difficult though, I soon found that one out." He smiled, trying hard to make casual chit chat.

"No, I find the coursework easy to be honest. And I'm definitely a lot happier on this course then the Childcare one. I think I might have found the place where I want to be." I smiled at him truthfully.

And it was true too; I didn't feel truly happy unless I was performing, and I could now fully understand why Callum loved performing in front of so many people so much. It was a huge thrill; acting, performing and being on stage.

"That's good then…you know if you need any help with the coursework or anything at all…I've been through all of the coursework and rehearsals before, so I know how hard it can be." I looked up in time, catching him smiling, and forced a smile back before looking back down at the table again.

It was nice to know that he wanted me to know that he was here for me, but he was a little confusing in the way he explained which way. I knew that all we could have been is friends though anyway of course, because we both got so busy easily and we'd only make the same mistakes as last time.

And I didn't want things to end in disaster and tears again, and then lose his friendship all together.

Callum meant the world to me; I loved him still, I cared about him, I trusted him, but I was there for him as his friend and nothing else. That love had turned into a different love; a friendship sort of love rather than a love of a lover.

"Thank you Callum." I replied, continuously thinking about the dream I had last night, a completely different dream to the ones I'd had for years and years. It was a flashback to the night I had met The Doctor all them years ago.

It was different, strange…I was so used to seeing into the shadows, looking into the eyes of them monsters; both terrifying and deadly, sometimes even waking me up with the terror they could sometimes bring me under different circumstances in the dreams.

Callum busily talked whilst I listened; I had been so used to it being the opposite, with me talking constantly, and Callum being the one listening that I hadn't really noticed anything different until it suddenly just appeared to me that I was the one doing the thinking and not really listening this time.

I knew it was really rude of me, but I had things on my mind to think about. These dreams were always on my mind anyway, but now that the dreams had switched to something else again, jumping to the night I met him, and the day my nightmares began…I couldn't stop overanalysing things.

Did that mean that The Doctor was going to come back?

Oh, if only that was true! It would be amazing if he came back, to get rid of these monsters and save the day once again, just like how he had suddenly appeared all them years ago. Because he was the saviour, he was the hero; it was always him.

"Charlie…Charlie?" Callum waved a hand in front of my hand, probably checking to see if I was still alive as I thought over my dreams, overanalysing things and possibly getting things wrong at the same time.

I smiled politely back in response, hoping I hadn't missed anything too important from what he had been saying, because I felt rather rude to be sat here daydreaming, whilst he sat…well…talking to himself, really.

He laughed in response, rolling his eyes at me. "I was just saying about the rehearsals being done at Key Theatre next week. They've got rehearsals for that play and I was wondering if you were possibly going to go along."

"Oh, erm…maybe….possibly." I added, because I imagined I would do. It had sounded good when I heard about it last week at college, but I hadn't really been paying enough attention to what Callum had been saying to give a straight yes or no answer.

"Are you alright?" Callum asked me anxiously, watching me warily as if he expected some long story about how bad life was right now. Well…he wasn't going to get one. I was fine really; a little confused about my dreams, but…I was feeling alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks. Just thinking a lot through."

"About the course?"

"Yeah, erm…you could say that." I forced myself to agree, just because Callum didn't have a clue what was going on right now, same as everyone else in my life. They didn't know about any dreams, any Doctor, or anything…and that was the way I liked it to be.

"Yeah, it's a lot to think about and take on, but I reckon you can handle that." Callum replied with complete faith. I just smiled in response, before turning to look out of the window, watching the shoppers pass by.

And as I took everyone in going past the restaurant window, looking as everyone went home with their shopping or headed into town to get their groceries and clothes…I saw it in the corner of my eyes.

I turned my head instantly, gasping in shock as right at the very edge of the window, at the back of town square, just besides the park, it was there. The box, the blue box that he flew in…the TARDIS!

"He's here!" I exclaimed, probably not looking like the sanest person alive as I jumped from the restaurant chair, ignoring Callum's strange looks and questions as I ran out of the restaurant as fast as my little legs could carry me.

"He's actually here…he's actually came back!" I gasped with such happiness, hearing Callum asking me what was going on behind me. I ignored him, running as fast as I could over to the park to see where it had gone.

It had definitely been right besides the park, but as I ran there, I couldn't see it anywhere. But there was no mistaking the big, blue box that he travelled in. It definitely had to be him! It just had to be!

"What's wrong?" Callum asked from behind me as I tried to gasp my breathe back, looking round before running into the park, and hearing Callum chase after me still. I couldn't just accept that he'd just gone, not after he had been so close again!

"He was HERE! He was just HERE; how can he just disappear again? He's obviously going to come back. He just HAS to!" I shouted in rage, throwing branches out of my face as I moved into the forest, desperate to find him again.

"Charlie, slow down!" Callum called out, trying so hard to catch up with me, but it was no use. As soon as I was out into the clearing, I sighed with complete sadness, feeling like I had failed myself.

He had been right in front of me, so close to me! And I had let him escape, without catching up with him at all. I had had my chance, and I had lost it again, after all these years of waiting for him!

"What did you see?"

"It was HIM Callum! It's always him; the one in my dreams every single night. The box was right here, and I let him get away!" I exclaimed in rage, feeling ready to burst into tears because of how sad I now felt.

I had missed my chance.

He always said he'd come back for me; yeah, he had got the months and years mixed up, but I didn't care. He had promised me he would come back for me, and he had, and now my chance was gone!

"Who Charlie, who did you see?" Callum asked me in a panic, trying to figure out my strange, unrealistic behaviour.

I looked at him warily, because I wasn't even sure if I could trust him if I did decide to tell him this, everything. He was a trusting Guy, but…could I do the same and take a risk in trusting him? I wasn't really so sure.

I wanted to, because now I had lost my chance, it was likely that I was never going to get the chance to see him again, and the idea of just confessing everyone to Callum was a tempting idea right now.

"Callum…you have to trust me." I begged him, hoping and praying that he wouldn't laugh at me. He could handle weird, he often handled 'weird' situations at college, with his course and everything else.

But…could he seriously handle this? Would he even believe me?

"You know I trust you Charlie already." He promised me, the same panic written deep within them desperate green eyes which were still searching mine as he stepped forward with overdone hesitation.

"Okay…" I forced myself to agree, taking a deep breathe and forcing myself to do this. After all, if I could trust anyone, I could always trust Callum, especially on handling weirdness. "I'll tell you everything."

***


	5. Gift

**Gift**

Charlie sat at her kitchen table, watching this strange Man curiously as he chewed on black chips he had requested, saying about how much nicer burnt chips tasted. He was a curious Man to say the least.

Charlie was sure that she had never quite met anyone like him, anyone so…strange, so different compared to the young Man sat right in front of her in the heart of her small kitchen table which she shared with her Mother and older Brother.

He didn't seem to notice the curiousness written right across the Girl's face as he dunked the black chips into the heap of tomato sauce that he had placed on the edge of the plate for himself, before chewing happily on the chips with his fingers.

Charlie cleared her throat, deciding that she should probably make conversation with this stranger seems as though she had took a big risk and invited him into her house with only just meeting him.

She knew Mother would flip out if she came home to find him here, but Charlie liked this Man already. He was very different to anyone she had ever met before in her short, five year life so far.

"So who are you really?" She asked him curiously again, even though she had already asked that question to him, back in the garden and Charlie wasn't so sure that The Doctor was really just his name.

He looked up from his chips, finishing the one he was chewing on, before he replied to the young Girl's question.

"I'm The Doctor." He said again, before diving back into his chips, and dipping it in tomato sauce before eating it without a care in the world. "Hmm…you're right; these chips are really good." He added after he finished munching, seeming quite content with the black chips.

Charlie couldn't help but screw her nose up a little bit as he chewed on the next chip without a care in the world, before asking the same question again.

"Urm…thank you….but…what's your real name? You cant surely be just called _The Doctor_. I mean…that's a silly name!" She huffed with not much belief at all. It seemed like such a silly name to Charlie; I mean, she didn't know anyone else called something along _The Doctor_ or such name.

He looked up from his chips, and a flicker of a smile passed on his face for a split second, before it turned back to looking serious again.

"I'm just The Doctor." He replied, before diving into them damn chips again.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" Charlie sighed. "I'm not stupid; I know that Adults lie enough times, and I can tell _when_ they're lying too…you're lying to me." Charlie stated; wrapping her arms across her chest stubbornly.

Of course Charlie didn't truly believe that this Man was lying to her; he had a trusting sort of look about him, and Charlie found this Man curious, but believable. And she wanted to believe' more than anything else, she wanted to believe.

"Now, do you honestly believe that I could be lying to you about that, Charlie Stewart?" He asked her, looking up from his chips and watching the little Girl extremely closely. Charlie knew the answer.

"No." She said back, quicker than she had even thought through her answer because she already knew it was true.

"I don't ever lie…about anything. Which probably makes me the most trustworthy person on this Earth….or the stupidest, one or the other." He pondered, with a carefree shrug of his shoulders.

"Okay, so….what is that box that you came here in called?"

Charlie had lots of questions to ask this strange Man, and now he had told her that he didn't ever lie….she wanted to ask away.

"That is called a TARDIS."

"And what exactly is one of these TARDIS'S?" Charlie asked him intrigued.

He smiled in response, finally pushing the empty plate away from him, before replying to her question.

"It's a Time and Relevant Dimension in Space."

"Soooooooo, it's a-"

"Time Machine." He interrupted her curious confusion; his eyes remaining on hers to catch the reaction from this small, young Girl. Charlie's deep brown eyes widened in shock, her brain trying to figure out he was having her on or not.

After all, Adults lied to Children all the time.

But she knew, she just knew by the way he was looking at her, the way he was telling her this, trusting her with this. He wasn't lying.

"You're not lying."

"I told you Stewart…I don't ever lie about anything." He replied smugly, watching her with the same seriousness as before.

And yet, it was so easy for Charlie to take this in, to believe every word this young Man told her, because something told her to. She'd never met anyone so…honest, so strange and yet so believable too.

"I believe you." She replied with pure honesty, nodding her small head once to confirm this to him.

"So how did you get your….time machine here? Right inside my back garden?" She asked him curiously, whilst his eyes shifted, taking in the whole of the small kitchen slowly, pondering on something or other.

"Nope…I have a question for you. Where's your Mother and Father, what are you…three?" He asked her in sudden alarm, almost as if he had just suddenly noticed how young the little Girl looked.

"My Mother's out, but-"

"Out, where?" He asked her, his eyes coming back to hers as he casually leant on the kitchen table, ignoring her question she was about to ask him.

She frowned thoughtfully, not really liking him interrupting her question about something so insignificant as where her Mother was. It wasn't as though her Mother really cared where Charlie always was, because she was always under her feet, and Charlie wanted to know more and more about this Man.

"She went to the shops…she forgot my birthday today."

"Happy Birthday Charlie Stewart, how old are you today then?" He asked her with one of those lucid grins of his.

"Five," Charlie replied with a shrug. She never really saw Birthdays as important days if she was honest. It was just another normal day for Charlie Stewart, or at least, it may as-well have been anyway.

"Ah, the big…five," The Doctor commented lightly, nodding his head once as his minor joke passed in a second.

"Yeah I guess, anyway-"

"How about I give you something? A little present for you're birthday?" The Doctor asked her curiously; a grin spreading across his face as he considered it himself.

Charlie liked the sound of him giving her a present, something to keep to remember him by, but then again…she also knew that she wouldn't be in her Mother's good books if she accepted something off a stranger.

"That's a very thoughtful idea, but…my Mum would be mad with me if I accepted something from a stranger, anyone else…."

He smiled smugly across at her, a cheeky glint in his glistening, green eyes. "Except…you know I'm not like anyone else, don't you Stewart?"

He was right.

She nodded, grinning back as he held his hand out across the table, willing her to take it if she dared…

She did.

She followed him out of the kitchen with the same eagerness as this Man, heading back to the blue box, as he explained how he had managed to fly his TARDIS right into her back garden, just half an hour ago.

***


	6. Screaming

**Screaming**

Charlie POV

I turned the necklace with the stunning, green gem in her hands as I spoke, continuously looking up at Callum to make sure that he was listening to me as I babbled on, pondering on whether he was believing this or not.

It hung from a long, silver chain and was stunning and matched the same colour of them lovely, green eyes as The Doctor, and he had always promised me that the gemstone would come in handy to me one day.

Of course I believed him.

We was sat on my bed upstairs, and I had got the necklace out from under the mattress of my bed from where I had kept it for all of these years and it had taken me a lot of courage to tell somebody about this.

"He's never came back…but I thought I saw the blue box again today, and I know that you probably wont believe me, but…he is real. I know he is, but if you don't believe me, then…send me to an asylum, but I know that he is definitely, a hundred percent real." Charlie stated with pure, absolutely determination.

I mean…there was no mistaking that night when I had first met him. I remembered every little detail about him.

The heavily polished, black shoes, the blue and white striped shirt, the chequered jacket, the navy blue bow tie and trousers, even the wild, light brown hair. And them green eyes too…trusting and different, the same colour of the stunning green jewel that I had right here in my hands.

I remembered absolutely everything about The Doctor.

The way he walked with determination, with a slightly happy bounce when we skipped out to get me the present, the certain, 'pretty' smell that I could never seem to be able to distinguish that belonged to him.

It was a nice smell, but I had never managed to be able to find that same smell anyway…besides this necklace anyway. That had always reminded me just like The Doctor's smell.

"He's as real as you and me." I added, hoping and praying that Callum would believe me. "He gave me this, he really did." He was the only chance I had, because I knew nobody else would ever believe me.

He flinched away from me slightly, making me panic a little bit in response. Because if he didn't believe me, then I had no chance. I'd probably be sent away again, or put in some asylum cell or something.

Then I really would never be able to meet The Doctor again.

I sighed heavily in response, staring down hard at the necklace in my hand. I was too trusting; that was my problem. I always said too much, rather than keep my mouth shut, and I had gone and done it again.

Now I would have to at least move away again, away from anyone I've ever known or be locked up in some little cell for the next five years!

"Well you know me," Callum sighed heavily, but I refused to look up at him. I just listened instead, getting ready for him to accuse me of being insane or something alike that. "I deal with weirdness a little easier than other people. Good idea you told me."

My eyes instantly darted up and looked back at his face straight away. He was watching me seriously, not one ounce of doubt on his face as he nodded his head slowly once, backing up my claim that he believed me.

I could literally have bounced with happiness right at that moment. Because nobody else needed to know, and I didn't want anybody else to know. Callum was the only one who could have dealt with this as good as how he would deal with weirdness, and I trusted him almost as much as I trusted The Doctor.

"You believe me?"

"Urm…yeah, you wouldn't lie about something like this. And besides….you're a rotten liar, Charlie!" He rolled his eyes. "I see through you so easily, even when you're acting…it's so easy for me to tell." He grinned.

"Oh thank god! I really thought you weren't going to believe me for a second!" I panicked, throwing my eyes around him suddenly, and taking him off guard.

Usually, I would have been awkward and embarrassed by my sudden hug, but not this time. Because this time, I was so happy that he believed me…he was the one person I relied on, and he backed me up.

"Thank you…I can't believe you actually believe me."

He laughed awkwardly, but hugged me back anyway. "Well….sure, its possible that normal, right minded people wouldn't believe you, but you know me….I deal with weirdness quite a bit better."

"What made you believe me?"

"You made me believe you. I know when you're lying, and anyway…if you believe, then….the rest will fall into place. If you don't believe…then its impossible that anything would come true." His words made me smile so easily in response.

Callum was always right with things like that.

"You could possibly be too clever for your own good, you know that." I joked, laughing away with my own joke.

"Just honest really…you know what I'm like for believing anything."

"Very true." I smiled, snuggling even closer to him.

Callum stayed for a drink when my Aunt Marie got home from doing her weekly Monday afternoon shopping, and I was only too glad that he promised me he wouldn't say anything; not to Aunt Marie, or anyone else.

Yes, I knew that it was good that Callum actually believed me, but the chances of anyone else doing the same thing had to be pretty poor.

I saw Callum to the door, so that we could talk more about our conversation from upstairs, which was a good idea.

"So…tomorrow…do you want to go into town? I'll look with you, if you'd want? It might be easier having two people to look rather than just one." He suggested, seeming to feel the need to explain to me.

"That would be a lot of help thanks…hopefully something will come about."

Callum smiled, gently brushing my chin with his index finger and thumb, forcing my face to look right at his, before pulling away again with a smile on his face.

"Keep your head up, alright? We will find him, I promise you."

Something in his voice made me have more faith automatically, more certainty in tomorrow, and being able to find him again. And I knew that I could wait as long as I needed to for the Doctor to come back.

I had waited twelve years already, I could definitely wait another ten or so years. However long it took….I could wait for him to come back.

"Callum…you know I told you about the….shadows, earlier on? The noises I hear when I wake up in the middle of the night?" I questioned him with curious uncertainty, knowing he had listened to every word I said.

He nodded, watching me closely with concern as he folded his arms together, across his chest, waiting for me to explain what I obviously wanted to know about it. Because I did have a question for him about it.

"Do you think…well…that their just dreams? That their not really there; that I'm imagining it………I mean, maybe I really am going crazy, what if I was going crazy Callum, I mean, I might not even know-"

"Charlie!" Callum grabbed me by my shoulder, shook me gently, and automatically, it had forced me to stop talking and listen to him. He stopped doing it, leaving his hands on my shoulders and looking at me with serious concern.

Oh no…maybe he thought that I was going mad too!

"Do you feel like you're going mad?" He questioned me, telling me silently to think hat through, before I suddenly started talking really fast in a nervous blubbering, like how I just had, in a panic.

"Urm…no."

"Well then, you're not crazy, are you?" Callum smiled helpfully; a look of pure trust buried deep within them similar green eyes. They wasn't totally the same as the Doctor's eyes from all them years ago-I would know, because I had drawn around a hundred pictures of him when I was younger-but they were very similar, possibly just as deep and kind too.

"No, no…you're right. Sorry for having a…mad moment, I guess you could call it." I apologized weakly, feeling a bit of a fool as he released his hands from my arm, and backed away from me like how he should do.

"Don't be so silly…" he laughed, trailing off awkwardly, as though he wanted to say something else. "You know Charlie, I'm always here for you. I'd still love to be friends with you, and…I'm really glad you trusted me with this."

I smiled in response, because if I was being honest, I was glad I had someone to tell too. Because I did trust him, and it was nice to know that I didn't have to keep this locked up inside anymore.

It had bothered me for twelve whole years.

"And as for the dreams…some seem so realistic, so scary that…you truly think that its real. But all of the sounds, all of the sights, and what happens in these dreams…they seem very realistic to me." Callum explained to me.

I nodded, glad that he was being as honest as he could with me, because I hadn't even been anywhere the shadows of my bedroom, nor underneath my bed because u had been that frightened of my dreams.

"Maybe I should…confront my fears, head closer to the shadows…task a risk, and face my nightmares head on-"

"No, no…don't do that." Callum quickly interrupted me, panic highlighting his features heavily then. I watched him warily, trying to understand what I should do for the best. "Whatever you do…don't do that. We'll find him first, we'll sort this out…together, right?"

I nodded, letting his arms wrap around me as he hugged me. It felt nice to have him here for me, as my friend, nothing else. It felt so much better, being able to trust someone with this big secret that I'd been holding in for years.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He agreed, pulling away from me and watching me closely to make sure that I was alright. And I was alright…I felt fine now that I had let it out, talked about it with him.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you'll be alright tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I laughed, rolling my eyes in response to the anxious tone of his voice. The way he asked me was like the way a Parent might ask a young Child, but I thought it was extremely kind to know that he cared enough about me to ask.

"Alright, see you tomorrow." He smiled, before quickly disappearing out into the heavy rain, running out to his car that was parked just outside the gates. I stood there for a few minutes, watching him leaving in his Mini and taking in the smell of the rain.

It wasn't really cold at all as I was stood outside on the front step of the house, as it was mid-May time, and the weather was just at the right temperature for cool evening. I loved the smell of rain too; it smelt so natural, and fresh.

I stayed out there for another moment, before forcing myself to head back into the house and cook me and Aunt Mimi's dinner.

I went to bed early again, ready for tomorrow and me and Callum's plans. I wanted to get plenty of sleep for the day ahead and be ready for this, completely ready, because I had waited such a long time for tomorrow to come around.

I had waited twelve long years for this Man to come back, and just having the very thought of him possibly coming back made me feel so much more happier than I had felt in a long, long time.

I had only met him once, on one single night, but it was somebody who I had always known I would meet again, it had been someone I had trusted more than anyone else. He hadn't been like anyone else.

But things were different when my dreams started that night, filling my head more and more with louder screaming, louder begging, louder desperation from a little Girl, begging to be freed, begging to be let out of the shadows…

And then the screaming started.

***


	7. Promise

**Promise**

Charlie struggled to keep up with his fast pace as they headed out into the garden, still skipping along quite contently together. He didn't seem to be at all embarrassed, holding a little Girl's hand whilst they bounced off together, hand in hand.

That itself told Charlie that this Man, the Doctor as he liked to call himself was completely different to anyone else she had met. She wasn't sure that different was exactly the right word for this Man…he was completely the opposite to normal Adults.

He treated her differently to other Adults.

Finally, they got to the big, blue box stood right at the side of her garden, just besides her Mother's apple tree, and Charlie watched on as The Doctor retrieved a silver key from inside his chequered jacket and unlocked the box.

He turned and looked round at the little Girl, a smile playing loosely on his face.

"Will you do me a favour, Stewart?" He asked her, watching her with a similar curiousness that Charlie had been using earlier to look at him.

She nodded, suddenly regretting letting herself do that instantly, in-case he asked of her something that she really couldn't do. She found the urge to not let him down overwhelming for some reason, but she was also terrified in-case that meant her getting told by her Mother or something.

"Stay here and wait for me to come back out again."

"Cant I come inside?"

He smiled again, seeming to be amused by Charlie's curious question.

"No, now stay right there." He warned her, before he quickly headed into the mysterious, blue box. Charlie watched in fascination, wondering what this strange Man could have been doing in a box.

It didn't look very big in width…and as Charlie poked her head round the sides, taking in just how small the box looked from the outside-after all, Charlie wasn't allowed to go around the box as he'd told her to stay there and not move an inch-she wondered why it was such a small time machine for.

Not that she had seen anything like this before in her life…maybe all time machines were like that. It amazed Charlie when she realized that this strange Man might have even been from the future.

She'd have loved to travel with this Doctor Guy, somewhere to the future, somewhere to the past even. Even though she was the tiny age of five, she knew it was her dream to one day see the stars.

Maybe this was just fate.

No, she reminded herself scornfully. A Kid could never be trusted like that….she would only be in the way again, like how she always was with her Mother.

She sighed relentlessly, wishing she was older so that she would have been able to go with The Doctor.

Finally, his face popped round from the TARDIS door, reminding Charlie a little like the first time she had met him just thirty minutes ago, and she couldn't help but giggle as he bounced out of the time machine, his hands behind his back.

She refused to look away from the Doctor and into the half open door, because he hadn't wanted her to go in there…so she knew she wasn't allowed to peak and had to respect his wishes.

She was just five years old, but she knew better.

He kneeled in front of her; all playfulness gone now as he held his hands out in front of him, before opening them to reveal a stunning, green gemstone hanging from a long, silver chain which was much too big for Charlie to wear.

Her deep, thoughtful dark eyes widened in shock as she took in the beautiful necklace, wondering if he was actually going to be giving her this as her birthday present. If it was then…well, it was the best gift she had ever been given, and likely to ever been given by anyone.

And she was so grateful for his thoughtfulness.

"Now, you must listen to me Charlie, because this is very important." He warned her in a serious tone, not bothering to mess around and call her Stewart, or Charlie Stewart, like how he had several times throughout them talking.

This was what made Charlie look up at the Doctor's expectant eyes and listen carefully to what he had to say to her.

"This is a very important necklace, and I want you to always keep this in a safe place, okay? Because one day this little beauty…" he trailed off, kissing the green gemstone once, almost as if it was to wish me good luck or something. "Will come in handy." He added with a truthful promise ringing through the air.

She let him hand it in her tiny hands, holding the necklace carefully in her hands.

"You believe me?"

"Yes," She whispered instantly, because she trusted this Man more than she'd trusted anyone before. He wasn't like any other person, Charlie was realizing suddenly. He might have been dangerous, but he definitely wasn't bad.

No, no…he was a good Guy.

"Now, run upstairs into your room…find a safe place to put this necklace, and I'll be back in ten minutes." The Doctor promised her, making Charlie gasp aloud in fright. She was right about knowing he would leave….he was going, without her.

"You wont be back; that's always what everyone says, and they never come back again!" She exclaimed in horror. She didn't want him to leave her just yet, not if he was never going to come back again.

The Doctor just smiled in response, brushing his hand gently once on her left cheek, before pulling away quickly again.

"I'm not like everyone else, am I Stewart?" He asked her, getting up from the ground. "I keep my promises. And I promise you this….I'll be back in ten minutes." He promised the little Girl earnestly, and she knew he wasn't lying.

He was coming back to get her, coming back in ten minutes.

Charlie nodded, following the Doctor's last instructions to run upstairs and put the necklace in a safe place. She ran and hid it under her mattress, before she was out into the garden as quickly as her legs could carry her.

And there, she sat…all night, waiting patiently for The Doctor's return., like promised.

***


	8. Friends

**Friends**

The Little Girl was screaming from the corner…begging for attention to be set free from the monsters in the shadows that had trapped her. She so badly wanted to be free, and she knew how she could use her voice to be heard.

She chose Charlie, the person who felt her pain too because of the Doctor leaving all those years ago. Through Charlie, this little Girl could be heard, and nobody could ever question her existence ever again.

Through Charlie, the little Girl could have her fears and her terror heard, she could make them listen to her pain. The pain she felt when the Doctor left all them years ago, trapped her with these monsters in the shadows.

Oh yes, she could use Charlie alright.

She could use Charlie just because she wanted to; because she wanted somebody else to hurt too, just like how she had suffered for so many years. For all these years, she had been trapped with these monsters, nobody believing her existence.

And now, it was time to be heard.

Something inside Charlie couldn't stop as she sat up in bed, and screamed for what could have been hours. The voices were in her head; that poor, little Girl from the shadows, begging her to help her, to save her from the monsters too.

"CHARLIE, WHAT'S WRONG?" Her Aunt Marie crashed into her bedroom, taking a seat in front of Charlie and taking in her seventeen year old self. She wasn't awake; she was still asleep, eyes wide open and staring right at the shadows in the corner of her bedroom.

The more she looked, the more she couldn't look away.

"CHARLIE!" Aunt Marie screamed again, shaking her a little bit to try and wake her up, stop her from making such wretched screams of terror. She didn't stop, she couldn't have stopped; Charlie was echoing the Child in the corner, the same screams of fear echoed in the terrified, little girl.

Aunt Marie's heart broke as she sat, watching the pain unfold itself right in front of her, knowing she couldn't do anything to wake Charlie up at the minute, from the terrors effecting her sleep.

Aunt Marie watched in horror; tears streaming down her face in panic now as she realized there was nothing she could do. Charlie was like Marie's Daughter, and she loved her just like her Daughter too.

She held Charlie close, holding the rigid, screaming Girl in her arms, and cried into her shoulder whilst the screaming continued, waiting for Charlie's horrendous nightmare to finish.

Charlie's screams were ringing in Marie's ears, but she took the pain and the torture for her Child. Because she felt so useless, so torn up about not being able to do anything to help Charlie.

It was possibly the worst pain a person could feel.

It made it worse to know that the screams didn't belong to Charlie; the screams didn't sound like Charlie's screams at all. They were too young, too fragile…it was as though Charlie was screaming through another person.

A little Girl.

With a motherly bond, came a responsibility to make sure that that Child was always happy and content, and Marie felt that bond with Charlie. Having not being able to have Kids, she loved Charlie more than a person could love their Child.

And Marie prayed that there was something she could do, something anybody could do to stop this, to help Charlie stop screaming, to stop her terror at that very moment.

She prayed for a Doctor.

Charlie POV

I woke up with a slight ringing in my ears, remembering nothing that had happened from last night's dreams. I remembered a Girl…a small, blonde Girl with plaits and a heavy fringe, and she was dressed in Victorian styled clothes.

She wore a white shirt underneath a black, piny-styled dress, and she looked really poor and a little scrubby. But I'd never got to see her face…or into her eyes for that matter, because her face was always down.

The last thing I remembered from the dream was the little Girl screaming, and I mean really screaming. As soon as she had started screaming, the pain was horrendous; shooting through me at exactly the same time the pain had shot through this little Girl too.

Even now, as I turned in my bed and images of this little Girl shot through my head…all I could feel was pain running through me, making me whimper in agony. All that pain she had carried inside of her…it was horrendous.

She didn't want me to forget her, she didn't want me to forget she existed, but…I wanted to forget her.

The pain was too much for me to bear.

I forced myself up from bed, trying to put the images right at the back of my head as I got dressed into a casual, blue dress styled like a fifties dress almost, with a pretty bow at the front of it.

I dressed it with tights, tip-toeing out of the bathroom again, as I made my way onto the hallway landing, before catching two definite voices.

Callum and Marie.

"…she was screaming for ages…I didn't know what I could do!" My Aunt Marie sounded as though she had been sobbing, and because of how familiar it was to the little Girl screaming in my dream last night…I stopped and listened to what they were talking about.

"It was probably just a nightmare Marie, I know that Charlie said she's been getting a few of them lately." Callum said as comfortingly as he could, whilst obviously trying not to say too much either.

"No, it was worse than that Callum! So much worse than you can imagine…three hours she was screaming for, and then she just went limp and right back to sleep again. I've never seen anything like it before in my entire laugh!"

Something felt weird to me this morning though; rather than feeling awful for Marie's pain like how I would, I didn't. I was more terrified for the little Girl in my dream, like something was holding me to her, bonding us together.

I crept inside my bedroom again, shutting the door behind me as quietly as I could whilst Marie and Callum continued to talk downstairs, and I hurriedly blow dried my hair and brushed it swiftly.

It was then that it suddenly came to me, just like a really obvious epiphany hitting me right in the face. The reason why I was so keen to protect this little Girl, the reason why I had to do anything I could to keep her from harm.

I was the only thing she had; besides the shadows, I was the only example of her existence and it was only through me that she could be heard, it was only through me that she could have her pain, her terror, her torture heard.

And I had to protect her; I just had to.

Something told me that it was my job to look after this little Girl, keep her safe from the shadows, before I even thought of myself. She was in my head now, always there for me in the way I had to be for her.

And I would do it.

I would do everything in my power to protect the little Girl, to keep her away from them evil shadows, before I even thought of myself. I had to; the devotion I felt to her, to keep her safe from these monsters…it was unbearably potent.

I walked back outside my bedroom then, making it obvious that I was now around so that they could stop talking, and I walked down the stairs with a little more enthusiasm than usual, to be heard by them.

Of course they stopped talking before I had even got down the stairs, and I made my way through the downstairs hallway; the cold feeling pleasant against my feet, as I headed into the kitchen.

They were both sat round at the kitchen table, eyes flashed up at me before I had even got through the kitchen door, and Callum looked just as worried as Marie even did. If it wasn't such a serious matter, I would have rolled my eyes and told Callum to stop staring at me, before punching him in the arm playfully.

But it was a serious matter. And I knew they were going to talk to me about it; ask me what was going on. That same protection to keep that little Girl hidden and safe, away from them was back again.

I quickly put my eyes back to the floor, watching the kitchen stone flooring as I made my way over to the wooden cabinets, getting out a cup for me to have a cup of tea.

"Anyone want a cup of tea?" I asked as I boiled the kettle, knowing the silence would soon be overcome by questions and demands, and begs to tell me what last night was all about. But I wasn't allowed to; I couldn't hurt that little Girl.

"No thanks, love." Aunt Marie replied with a gentle voice.

"No thank you." Callum cleared his throat awkwardly, sounding as though he definitely wanted to talk to me about this. I sighed scornfully, and stabbed the spoon in the sugar bowl as hard as I could, grabbing a big spoonful of one sugar and pouring it into my cup hastily.

I retrieved the milk from the fridge, listening to somebody getting up from the kitchen table as the kettle boiled, only imagining who it was getting up. I poured the milk into the cup anyway, before placing it back in the fridge door again.

I bit my lip hard to stop myself from complaining as I heard the kitchen door shut behind someone, no doubt it had to be Aunt Marie.

Of course I was right.

As soon as we heard the living room door shut closed again, Callum was up from the kitchen door, standing besides me as I poured the boiling water into my cup, ignoring his hard stare that I could feel right on me.

"Who was the little Girl?"

"I don't know what you mean." I lied.

"The little Girl in your dreams…Marie said you were screaming…but it wasn't you screaming…it was in the voice of a little Girl."

"Oh," I replied nocturnally the best I could, trying to shrug it off casually.

"So, who was it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked defensively, sighing heavily due to his annoying questions. I imagined he wouldn't drop it; that was what was annoying me even more, because I was an awful liar too.

"Charlie, what are you hiding? I can see right through you remember…who is this little Girl? Was it you…did you see yourself maybe in this dream…maybe when the Doctor arrived that night."

"I don't know." I retorted with attitude, emphasizing the don't as much as I possibly could, in order to at least try to get him to believe me as I sat down at the kitchen table. Callum was right there, taking a seat besides me, and questioning me with his eyes.

I sighed defensively, allowing myself to close up internally and holding my face in my hands securely and wishing that he would drop this. But of course, Callum always refused to listen to what I wanted to do.

"Charlie please…just tell me who it was in your nightmares last night." Callum begged me; letting his hand find my arm. "I want to know what you dreamt about last night." He added, but I shoved my arm away from his hand.

"Well maybe…maybe I just don't want to tell you!" I stormed back aggressively, feeling my temper flaring up due to all of his questions that he kept constantly asking me about this dream of mine.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Charlie, really I am, but I want to know-"

"It's got nothing to do with that!" I exclaimed in rage. I didn't understand why Callum couldn't just stop it; I couldn't understand why he really was that worried for, when it was just a silly dream.

I was more than used to the dreams.

"Well okay…why is it such a problem then? All you have to do is tell me what you dreamt about last night…who was this little Girl in your dreams? Just…tell me and then I'll drop it, I swear to you-"

"I don't know, okay! It was a blonde Girl, a little blonde Girl, about seven years old, but I never saw her face. She was screaming, begging me to help her out of the shadows, away from these monsters, and she was so lost, okay!" I exclaimed in rage, before dropping my head in my arms on the table in shame.

I had done it; I had gone and told him and let that little Girl down.

I felt one of Callum's hands brush at the back of my neck, before pulling forward and letting both his hands find each side of my face, pulling my face up to look at me. Except, he wasn't looking at me…he pulled me into his arms and hugged me instead, offering his comfort in return of me telling him everything about my nightmare.

I let him, hugging him back and thanking him silently for being here for me. Nobody else would have ever believed me; I had been through so many care homes, so many foster parents just because people thought I was mad.

Nobody believed me about the Doctor, and near enough everyone offered counselling, after shoving me back into yet another care home. I refused to talk about it, because all I'd be called is a blatant liar, so there was not much point in saying anything.

"Thank you for telling me…that's all I wanted. I want to help you Charlie, and I can…because I believe you. I believe everything you tell me." He promised me, pulling away from me again so that he could truly look at me again.

"Thank you Callum…for everything." I added the last part just in-case he was confused about what I meant. I was talking about everything that he had done for me. Because he had done so much for me, he had really been there for me.

He didn't have to be here for me if he didn't want to, he could have just turned his back on me the moment he dumped me.

But he didn't; he was constantly there for me, supporting me, and trying to be there for me as a friend. And I really appreciated him doing that, being there for me as a friend instead of running a mile when he had the chance.

"It's what friends are here for. I may not have acted as a very good friend to you in the past, not been here for you, but…I am here for you now. And I want you to know that I regret ever hurting you, more than anything else."

His eyes told the truth; green and lovely and rimming with honesty, of course I believed what he was saying. I just nodded, knowing what we had to do today, knowing we had to find the Doctor, one way or another.

And it was obvious from how difficult Callum found this, that I would have to be the one to suggest leaving now. Because we had to find him today, we both knew ourselves that he would be the one with all the answers.

I might have only met him once, but I already knew that he was alike anyone else in the whole world. He was a good Guy, the one who could help when nobody else could help. I'd had enough dreams about him to know this; I'd had enough dreams about him and his adventures to know that he was so much more than anybody else.

"I want to find him Callum…today." I pressed urgently, making sure that he knew that I was being deadly serious. I needed some answers, and inside my head, I knew that nobody else could have really helped me.

Only the Doctor.

Callum nodded, almost as if he knew this automatically, already. He probably did, I wouldn't have been surprised.

"Come on…let's go searching." He agreed, even though he knew that we both didn't have a clue on where to look, and even how to look really. Where were we possibly going to find him when he travelled across the whole of time and space?

I certainly doubted he would come back to the small, boring city of Spalding really.

But I didn't say a word of disagreement, as I got up and followed him out of the front door, because of the fact that I was already to go out and look as I was. I was still trying to take everything in as I shouted out to say goodbye and see Aunt Marie later on, when we could come back…even though I really wasn't sure what was going to happen over the next few hours.

"Where can we even go to look? I mean…do you really think he'll come back? He's been away for twelve years…can you really imagining coming back to a town as small as Spalding?" I choked out in a hurry, as I half-jogged, half-walked to keep up with Callum's long strides.

"It sounds to me as though he'd come back if he had something to come back for…something to solve, somebody to…save, you could say." He quickly added, throwing a lingering look at me as he said all of that.

I flushed embarrassedly, quickly putting my head down and going quiet as I followed him, ignoring his eyes. I didn't really think that myself, because I wasn't exactly somebody to come back to; I was a normal human being; unimportant, completely useless, and not needed at all.

The Doctor on the other hand…well, he definitely wasn't like anyone else, and I had to wonder if he was even human really. I seriously doubted it when he was so important in my dreams, so needed, so brave.

"He wouldn't come back for me Callum, I'm not important remember."

"I wouldn't say that…not with the dreams that you keep having and that little Girl too. If anything you're probably the most important person for the Doctor right now."He suggested, with a shrug of his shoulders.

Something told me he was just guessing that, but it was still nice to feel that needed, I had to confess.

We went into every shop in town, every restaurant, asked every person around town with me giving a perfect explanation of what he looked like, because I could remembered the Doctor so well, even after all these years.

But no, nobody had seen anything.

Not a single thing, and the more we kept searching, the more I could feel Callum getting more fed-up and probably useless too. We searched everywhere in town, asking almost everybody in town twice before I suggested to have a break and grab a drink and some food in Wimpy, after a whole eigh hours of searching.

The chips were so good after not eating all day, and the hot chocolates that we brought were just the best really, especially after so long trying to look for one, single Guy. One, single Guy who possibly had the answers to all of this; and the resolution to do something about it and save that terrified, little Girl.

"I don't know how we can find him…to be honest; I haven't got a clue about this. I knew all this already Charlie, but…" he trailed off, sighing helplessly in response. "I'm not sure where else we could look…do we go to London to search for him? Is he even in this time zone?" He asked himself with another heavy, frustrated sigh.

"I don't know, but…I have to know Callum. I have to at least try and get the answers I need, because this….well, this has been going on for too long."

"I know, I know." He agreed with a forced nod. I knew he knew that anyway, but it sounded like he wasn't sure on how he could possibly help me if we didn't find the Doctor. And the truth was…I was starting to feel at a lost point too.

But he said that he'd come back; he promised me, and I knew already that he kept his promises. I knew he did, he promised me he would come back. How could I lose faith when he promised me he would come back?

"He promised me Callum, he promised me he would come back."

"Yes, but Charlie…sometimes people break their promises Charlie. I know that's hard for you to…believe, but sometimes you just have to face up to it."

"I know that, and I know what you're talking about too. You're talking about you breaking that promise and dumping me even though you said you wouldn't, yeah? But its nothing like that, he's nothing like anybody else. He promised me ten minutes!"

"Well how can he be so perfect when ten minutes turned into twelve years?" He snapped, glaring at me angrily and taking me back for a second. Because he didn't know him…not like how I did, in my dreams, on that night…

He was perfect, to me anyway.

In my dreams, he was always the good person, and that was because he was the good person. He was a good person.

Callum sighed remorsefully as he saw me put my head down, but I refused to look up at him, because he didn't understand. The Doctor had had to go.

"Look, I'm sorry…maybe, and this is a long shot, but just maybe…the Doctor left something to help you without you even knowing it. Maybe…he's always been here for you, but…you just didn't realize?" He suggested, trying to be helpful.

That made sense…that made a lot of sense actually, and as he suggested the idea to me, I let myself have a good, long think about that. It made a lot of sense for him to do that, if he so much as thought that I needed something to protect me.

Protect me…

And then that's when it hit me…probably the most obvious thing that should have come to me really. It had been staring me right in the face for all of this time and I hadn't even noticed it. What was it that the Doctor had told me that night?

""This is a very important necklace, and I want you to always keep this in a safe place, okay? Because one day this little beauty…" he trailed off, kissing the green gemstone once, almost as if it was to wish me good luck or something. "Will come in handy." He added with a truthful promise ringing through the air.

"Oh my god…Callum, its obvious!" I exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm, making three teenage Girls sat at a near table turn around and giggle. But I didn't care; I didn't even really notice it.

Because it was so obvious to me now about what the Doctor had given me to keep me safe, to come in handy. The necklace, it had always been that necklace. I'd just been too blind to see it for all these years!

"What, what is it?" Callum asked me in shock, getting up from the table too, like how I had done. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him roughly after me, knowing that this definitely had to be right. It just had to be!

I pulled him outside the Wimpy restaurant besides me, and even though he struggled to keep up, he followed right besides me.

"That necklace…that necklace was the one he gave me and he said that one day it would come in handy. That's what I need to bring him back…maybe not to sort these nightmares out, these monsters, that little Girl but…to bring him back!" I exclaimed, feeling enlightened by the very knowledge of it.

Callum nodded, acting a lot saner than how I was, but that was just because of how excited I was getting myself. And that was only because I knew that the Doctor would be back now, like he always said he would be.

This had to be right!

"That makes sense." He agreed with a simple nod, still not getting as excited about it as I would. It surprised me a little bit, because I imagined that he would get excited about him coming back, ready to sort this all out.

"You aren't happy? Even after I've figured this out, so everything can be sorted out now, when he's back?" I asked him confused, trying to figure out why he wasn't as happy as me about this exactly. His mood didn't make sense to me.

"Yeah, no it is good news Charlie………I just don't want you to get your hopes up again, only to…well, be let down again. When he comes back, don't get me wrong…….I will be extremely happy, but until then…I just think we should be a bit more hesitant about it." He explained to me carefully.

"Well I believe in him. Its obvious he left this necklace with me to keep me safe...to come in handy one day…al I have to do is see why and how. And I'll do this…I'll do it for him." I replied stubbornly, full of self belief as I marched home quicker, hearing Callum sighing behind me quietly.

It didn't stop him chasing after me though, like I knew that it wouldn't.

"Okay then, so how are we going to work this out exactly?" Callum asked me as we practically ran back to my house. Well, I weren't running actually; I was walking with quick pace, Callum was the one who had to run to catch up with me.

"By getting the necklace, and trying something. I mean…it seems rather silly to me and it might not work, but…it's worth a try." I gasped out truthfully, rushing past the tiny, outside bus station.

He barely caught up with me, and as we raced home, I was only too glad that Aunt Marie had gone out early to get some food shopping for us, because I hadn't really wanted to face the questions if I was honest.

I was a coward like that.

I raced up into my bedroom, leaving Callum sat at the kitchen table, and searched under my mattress, where the necklace was still there, like how I knew it would be because it was where I last left it.

I took in the stunning green gemstone, wondering to myself if this really was the Doctor's plan for me in the future or if I was simply adding two and two together and coming up with five. Although I knew that there was a strong possibility that the second one was the real answer, it sounded like something alike what the Doctor might do.

That was what I thought anyway, however I was usually wrong about these sorts of things, but…I had faith. I had had faith for twelve whole years, so I wasn't just going to lose faith now, not after all this time.

I raced back downstairs with the necklace in the very palm of my hand, holding it as though it was the most precious piece of jewellery around, and that was only because to me, it really was just that. And in a way it was too; you couldn't find this on a market somewhere, not given by the Doctor anyway.

Callum was still sat at the kitchen table, and as soon as I was back in the kitchen, he watched me warily as I put the necklace on the table carefully. I could tell he was still hesitant about this idea, even after he said it had made a little sense, but I just knew myself that this made more sense than anything else.

"It has to be about this necklace…what else could he have meant when he told me that this would come in handy one day?" I asked him, knowing that this made a lot of sense. It must have been about this, because there was no other reason for him giving it to me.

The Doctor was too smart after all; he would already know if I needed some sort of protection or something, and how he could have help with that, even if he couldn't be around himself. That was how much faith I had in him.

"Well I'm not sure Charlie, but I don't think you should get your hopes up like this. If it fails then…well I just don't want to see you get hurt if it means that it's just a necklace." Callum warned me, making me click my tongue in annoyance.

"Haven't you been listening to a word I've said? Why would he leave an unimportant necklace here, if I wouldn't need it one day?"

"Urm…for a present?"

"That's not how the Doctor works…he would have known that I'd need protection one day, to keep me safe, from something or other. He said it himself when he told me that it would be useful one day; that was a complete giveaway!"

"Well okay, okay if you think this is going to work then-"

"I know it's going to work." I interrupted him, with pure honesty and trust because I trusted the Doctor completely. This was how he worked; how he did things, I could tell that in every dream I'd ever had of him, and I'd already had plenty of them.

"Okay, so…" Callum trailed off, taking a deep breathe and forcing himself to carry on with his sentence. "Where are we going to go to do this?" He forced himself to ask, making me smile instantly, because I already knew where we could go.

"I think I have the perfect place." I grinned at him.

And I did, and as we hurried there (no thanks to Callum, of course), I knew this was going to work. I just knew it…I had such a positive, trustful feeling and in the pit of my stomach, it was turning round awkwardly in excitement and anticipation to be seeing the Doctor again.

Finally.

The weather was cool; hot in the sun, a little chilly in the shade, with a light breeze in the air, as we hurried off to the park together, with Callum silently trying to work out where exactly we were heading to.

I could tell that he was, because he weren't even bothering to talk or even ask where exactly we were going. Not that I minded; it gave me more time to think about what exactly I was going to do when we got to the open meadow, because right now, I wasn't so sure what my options actually were, besides from having a necklace that I was somehow supposed to figure out on how to use. I wished the Doctor would have given me more clues on what exactly I was meant to do to bring him back.

But it didn't matter because I had all I needed in my hands, and I had faith in myself to work it out myself, even if he hadn't left me much clues at all. I would work this out on my own, for him, at the very least.

We finally got to the open meadow, a five minute walk from the start of the park, when Callum finally said something.

"What are we even doing in an open meadow, Charlie?" He asked me confused, sounding a little fed up with the walking by this stage, especially because I hadn't give him any clues whatsoever about where we was even going.

"I thought it would be a quieter place to do this…somewhere at least…more discreet." I explained, coming to a stop just in the middle of the field, and holding the blue necklace in my hand with uncertainty.

Callum sighed besides me, sounding as though he had given up.

"I really don't see how this is going to work to be honest Charlie…really, I don't. I mean how-"

"Shh," I hushed him hurriedly, rubbing the necklace over gently once, twice…and a third time. Of course nothing happened, like I didn't imagine it would work the first time. Because I didn't have a clue what I was doing, or how this was going to bring him back, but somehow I just knew that this necklace would be the end to all these problems and nightmares.

I closed my eyes, holding the necklace close to me, before bringing it to my lips, kissing it softly like how the Doctor had that very night.

I waited and waited with wide, anticipated eyes, expecting to see a blue box come out of nowhere, a slow, whooshing noise coming with it, but…nothing. Nothing happened, and the longer we waited, standing in silence, the more I could feel Callum's smugness.

I heard him sigh behind me after ten minutes.

"He'll come back Callum! He has to, he promised me!" I told him, because he did. He promised me he would come back, and I knew the Doctor would keep that promise. He was different from anyone else…he wasn't a failure.

"I know he promised you Charlie, but you're getting your hopes up for nothing! I'm sorry to say it, but I don't want to see you getting upset about this later, when you realize this yourself." He sighed heavily, telling me that he didn't really want to admit this himself either.

I felt like crying; I felt like breaking down, because even Callum had given up hope on the Doctor. And how I was supposed to keep faith when everything he said sounded like it was actually going to happen.

But I wasn't going to.

I stormed back towards the forest, letting Callum follow me if he so wished to, but it was up to him.

"Charlie, where are you going now?" I heard Callum say right behind me, hearing his footsteps behind me as we made our way back through the forest again together. I knew exactly where I was going.

"To get my tent, I'm staying here the night."

Callum sighed.

"It's worth a try Callum…if it doesn't work, then it doesn't work, and I'll just have to give up, wont I? but if it does…"

"Okay fine, but I'll stay here the night with you too. It's an insane plan Charlie, but I cant let you do this alone." He promised me.


	9. Nightmare

**Nightmare**

Of course Aunt Marie was concerned and tried to stop me when I got home, but I was eighteen, and I had a mind of my own. When I got something stuck in my head, it was pretty much too difficult to get it out of my head.

She was just relieved that Callum was coming with me to help with my 'insane' plan, which I still had every confidence in the world about it working out. I knew he would eventually come back; maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but…soon.

He would always come back when he was needed, I had enough dreams about him to know that myself.

I helped put Callum put the tent up, and then I sat on the edge of the tent, with my blanket wrapped around me, whilst Callum set up the sleeping bags busily. I didn't plan to sleep tonight though…I was quite happy watching the stars above, and wondering which one the Doctor was on.

"Are you cold?" Callum asked me with concern from behind me, but I simply shook my head in response.

"No."

"Well…have this." I felt him take my blanket off from around me, and wrap his coat around me instead. I tried to shrug it off, but of course he wouldn't let me, and I knew there was no point fighting him.

So I gave up with a sigh, and let him wrap it around me.

"Thank you." I said, trying to ignore the lingering smell of his coat that belonged to him, and was left lingering on his coat. I could smell it, so clearly, and it didn't really help with the fact that I had told myself I was over him so many times.

My head was starting to question it again.

"No problem," Callum replied without concern, even though now all he had on was a vest top and jeans. It wasn't my place to really say anything anymore though, because we weren't together anymore and that was how it was definitely going to stay.

I returned my eyes, my attention back to the stars, watching them bright up the dark night's sky like the prettiest picture you could see. It was a beautiful night tonight, with not one single cloud in the sky.

I imagined the Doctor flying to every star in the World, every planet, every year, and seeing the amazing things he had seen. That was always what I saw in my dreams about him anyway, and I couldn't deny a hint of jealousy within me.

Because the truth was, I wanted to be there too.

I wanted to be apart of the adventure, to be able to see the things he had, the adventures he had gone on before…but I wasn't allowed.

I sighed heavily, wishing the stars didn't seem so far away as they did now. Twelve years of waiting was such a long time compared to just ten minutes.

And I knew that after tonight, I probably couldn't ever get my hopes up like this, not like how I have after all this time. Callum would think I'm a liar, and I probably wouldn't even be allowed to mention the Doctor's name again…not without people thinking I'm insane that was.

The thought of never being able to mention his name again though, the adventures he had been on in my dreams, the amazing things he could do.

It was all real, I knew it was, despite it all being in my dreams. I just had that feeling that everything I had seen had happened; I had belief in the Doctor, possibly more than anyone else had faith in anyone before.

I didn't want to sleep at all that night, because I wanted to stay up and look for the Doctor, in-case I missed one single clue about the Doctor coming back, like I knew he would be, one day soon.

"Are you going to try and get a little bit of sleep at least?" Callum asked me, like I knew that he would. I shook my head, because there was no way that both of us could go to sleep at the same time, and miss something, a clue of some kind.

"No, because if both of us are asleep, who's going to look out for him coming back?"

"Okay," Callum sighed, playing about with his mobile in his hands, behind me. "I'll put my alarm on at twelve so I can definitely wake myself back up…and then I'll look for four hours whilst you get a bit of sleep too, then we'll swap back, alright?"

I didn't want to agree to it, but…it did sound fair, I had to admit. So with that thought, I forced myself to nod.

"Thank you," Callum sighed quietly from behind me, as though I was doing him a favour or something by agreeing to it. I heard him put his mobile back in his bag besides him, before getting comfy in his sleeping bag and going silent.

"Goodnight Charlie," Callum added, before turning round in his sleeping bag to try and get comfy, as he went to sleep. I smiled to myself, appreciating him being here for me, when nobody else would have been really.

"Goodnight Callum," I whispered back, before it all went silent and he slowly started to go to sleep behind me.

I stayed up for ages, trying to see or hear anything, but I had no clues of when the Doctor would turn up, if he was even going to turn up tonight that was. I had no clues of when he would appear, or if he was even going to ever appear.

And as soon as Callum woke up again, you could bet that he wanted me to sleep and it was so obvious that I wasn't going to be allowed a say in the matter really. I sighed heavily in response, but forced myself to go to sleep anyway after Callum promised to keep an eye out at all times for me whilst I slept.

And you can only imagine the dreams I had whilst I slept, dreaming of his arrival back in Spalding, 2010, coming back for me, to save the day, like how he did in every single dream and nightmare…

It was still pitch black when I opened my eyes, and I could hear something outside making a noise, like a cricket. I felt tired still, which told me that I hadn't slept for that long really, but I still sat up in my sleeping blanket, taking a look across at Callum's sleeping bag to see that he was still asleep.

I huffed sourly in response, because of course if he was asleep, he could have missed anything happening. I turned towards the entrance of the tent, about to take in the stars, the beauty of the light of them when something caught my eye.

I gasped, throwing the sleeping bag from my body and jumping up from the tent. I ran towards the blue box with pure determination, determined not to let him get away this time, never again.

"Doctor!" I Shouted, banging my fists against the box, and gasping in shock as I really felt the wooden box beneath my hands. Because it really meant that he was here, it really meant that he was actually here for real again.

"Doctor!" I shouted again, banging my fists even harder on the door, and feeling the wood beneath my hands for real. I knew he wouldn't recognize me, not compared to the little, five year old Girl he had met all them years ago but I didn't care.

Finally, the door clicked open, a sort of whirring sound coming out from the gap, making me gasp again in shock. I stepped back slightly, waiting to see his head pop round the open door or something, waiting to see his face for real again.

A few moments was nothing compared to twelve, whole years and I could wait a few more moments to see him again for definite.

But I also wanted see him again too; I was so excited that I could feel it in my very being. My heart was hammering in my chest, my breathe was gasping in anticipation, my eyes wide with excitement.

And then, it happened, like I knew it would.

His face popped around the door curiously, still as young looking as I remembered, still the same green eyes that I loved. His eyes were alight with curiosity, looking around at first before they fell on my face and looked me up and down curiously.

As soon as he found my face again, he smiled, almost as if he remembered something, remembered me almost.

"Ah…Charlie Stewart," he remembered happily, leaning on the side of the door, and folding his arms across his chest. I watched him curiously, finding this too difficult to believe, not if he actually remembered me.

"My…you have grown." He sighed, looking happy about that for some reason.

A crimson red flushed my cheeks like hot flames of red, flaring my face up with fire in response to his happiness, and trying to work out what to say or do now that he was actually right here, in front of me.

I mean god…I was so relieved that he was here; I felt at home practically, just being in his very company, and the more the seconds went along, the more I felt at home with him, at peace now that he was here.

But then…as my nightmare unfolded…he disappeared as soon as I looked down at the floor. I gasped in horror, forcing my eyes back up to see nothing in front of me anymore; no TARDIS, no Doctor, nothing.

I was alone, I had missed my chance, and he was never going to come back here again…

"NO!" I gasped out in a panic, jumping up from the sleeping bag in shock, suddenly wide awake for real now. My dark brown eyes were wide and watching everywhere outside the tent, trying to see if the TARDIS was there.

But there was no sign of anything, just the sparkling stars in the dark night's sky; beautiful, but…nevertheless not what I was hoping to see.

I sighed in defeat, looking back at Callum who I noticed hadn't said anything yet. And it was only when I looked to him, did I see that he was now asleep. I rolled my eyes in response, hoping that he hadn't missed anything, before I went back to staring at the entrance of the tent for some kind of a sign that the Doctor was around or was going to come back even.

But there was nothing, and I felt as though I had failed miserably.

I sighed heavily, wishing that there was some sort of sign, wishing that I could really believe myself about the Doctor coming back. I so badly wanted to know that the Doctor was coming back now.

Because I never wanted to lose faith in him, not if I could ever help it. It was all part of believing in something, wishing it to be true, and believing in it until you really had to stop yourself, before you hurt yourself so badly with each let down.

I didn't want that to happen to me. Not again.

I decided to sit outside on the bench and wait for an hour, to see if I could hear anything outside, rather than sitting here and doing nothing when I obviously wasn't going to get any sleep, not whilst Callum was too anyway.

I climbed quietly out of my sleeping bag, and went out into the cold with my blanket pulled around me because it was very chilly tonight. I sat myself on the bench, looking around the empty meadow and taking in the beauty of it with the help of the only streetlight, besides the bench.

There was nothing; no sounds, no sign of movement or even other signs of life-besides me and Callum, who was fast asleep in the tent-and I was clueless on how I was meant to go from here, if this all went wrong for me.

I sighed heavily, wishing I knew how to stop caring about someone, thinking about someone, missing them, and…loving them. I hadn't realized how to do that with Callum yet, yet alone…anyone else.

I always did this to myself; let myself get hurt, prepared myself for the fall, only to get even more hurt in the end. It happened every time to me, and maybe somebody was just trying to tell me something.

That I was meant to be a wanderer; alone and by myself.

Maybe something alike the Doctor, maybe that was why he wasn't going to come back…because he was just a lonely wanderer like me, meant to travel alone, visit a place once, and never come back to that place again.

I stayed there for ages, listening to every single noise, every single movement in the distance that could ever possibly be heard to the human ear, trying to focus on every little noise to see if it was him.

I waited on that cold bench, the blanket around me for what seemed like ages, and despite the temptation to sleep because I felt so sleepy, but I couldn't give into the temptation to sleep, not without seeing if he was going to come back.

I doubted that he was going to come back now, despite the fact that I wanted to believe that he would come back, everything pointed to the fact that he wasn't going to come back…that it was just too late for that to happen.

Life would go on without the Doctor, life could go on…but the monsters in my room would only get stronger. The little Girl would only get weaker, and I…well I would only surely get weaker too.

Forced to live a normal life…forced to live one that I didn't want to, to carry on having these dreams, to get weaker underneath the weight of these shadows, the horror they were about to bring.

It was coming.


	10. Blank Faces

**Blank Faces**

Things always carried on as normal after something insane happened; people always tried to brush things under the carpet because it was easier than facing the music, easier than having to deal with the questions and accusations.

I always knew that if anyone knew my secret, they would automatically think I was insane, but I would never have thought that my Aunt Marie would have thought that about me, not after all the years spent together.

But I was wrong, I was so wrong.

As soon as Callum told Marie what had been going on, despite me begging him not to…she didn't want to know. I told her everything that there was for her to know; about the monsters and the shadows, the little Girl…the Doctor.

She thought I was crazy, and after two years, I had seen ten specialists; all which had told me he wasn't real.

I myself decided to stop seeing the specialists, ignoring the advice of Marie or anyone else, and signing out of their books altogether.

Callum was there; constantly, and I was more than glad to have someone there for me, even if it was only one person. He was the only person who had faith in me, and trusted what I said about the Doctor.

As soon as I had stopped seeing the physiatrists, I moved in with Callum.

I was happy to be moving in with him, because we both knew that the move in together was just two friends sharing a house together and that that was all it was going to be because that was all there was between us.

But I was also a little worried because of the past too, and the number of times that people had turned on me and called me a liar about the doctor and all of my dreams and nightmares that I'd had over the years.

And that including Marie, who had totally let me down.

Of course I was hurt, but I could still see that Callum would be there for me, like he always had been in the past.

Marie moved out to go and live back with her Sister in London, which is why I took Callum's offer up on living in the house after he had taken the house of off her for a cheap deal of a price.

I couldn't move out of that house, despite everything that had happened in it. I was too scared to leave them memories behind me yet, if I was being honest.

I helped Callum unpack in Marie's old room, after she took everything away from the room, and he automatically said that he would have her room, and for me to have my own room still, which was nice of him.

I was quite happy with that offer, because despite the creepiness of the shadows and the monsters, and horrors of the nightmares that had happened in that room, I couldn't bear to not still stay in there.

I helped bring up all the boxes had had in his room, with Callum helping shift some of the heavier boxes and his big suitcase that he had brought round too, which was full of his clothes too.

I was glad that Tyler had given me a permanent weekend job, on Saturdays and Sundays, because I was now earning seventy pounds a weekend, and Callum already had a proper job at the local radio station.

"Is that all your stuff now?" I asked Callum, placing the last cardboard box on his bed, after retrieving them from his car.

"Yep, that's it." He agreed, taking the heavy cardboard box from me carefully. I stood in the middle of his bedroom, watching the freshly painted light blue walls, and the small, single bed stood in the middle of the room, pushed to the wall.

I felt awkward just standing there, because I wasn't too sure what to do for the best whilst I was stood there. He had been there for me so much, but…I wasn't too sure how I could be there for him now, to repay him.

And as he looked towards me, I felt even more awkward.

"Was there…something else?"

"Urm…well I was just checking to make sure you didn't want…anything…at all?" I tried to sound positive about that, but it sounded too unsure, as though it was more of a question than a statement.

He laughed awkwardly, settling aside the boxes. "I'm fine, really. But thank you, for asking." He smiled.

"Okay, well I'll…just be in my room, if you need me." I smiled back, before I walked out before I could make an idiot of myself and stay in his bedroom a little longer than I already should have stayed there.

Things pretty much went on as normal from that day, and I tried to get on with things the best that I could. Callum was constantly there for me, as my friend, like how he always was, and always had been.

My nightmares had stopped, which told me that all along the one thing I had had to do to stop everything from happening was…well, let go. I had let go of the little Girl who haunted my dreams and there was no more shadows anymore, no more monsters either.

And there was no _him_ either, which again, told me that all I had had to do was let go of the fact that he was never going to come back again and then I could have moved on happily from the past.

Callum was often out of the house, and I was used to that, and it didn't bother me one bit. Because I had also got a job at the local radio station, thanks to my degree in media, and even though it was Callum who had put in a good word to help me get the job too…I loved being there, at the station.

And just when I started to think that everything was normal again, back to being sane, and back to being how it should be, with everything just in its right place, everything going right like it should be…it all changed yet again.

I packed my things together to leave the radio station after I finished up my show, the last song playing away in the background as I got ready to go. The song was _Jailhouse Rock _by _Elvis Presley_, a particular favourite song of mine.

I had to wonder to myself about what the fifties were like though, especially because I would never really know. I always wanted to travel and see the world, and I'd always wanted to see what the past was for myself.

When I first met _him_, I had dreamt that that could have been possible one day, just maybe, if he ever bothered to come back again but…I guess that just weren't going to happen anymore, and I just had to accept it.

And I had accepted it really, it was just a case of getting used to it. That was the difficult part really.

"Hey Charlie," Steph commented politely as he came into the recording studio. I looked to see him smiling at me, his dark hair unruly as usual, his clear glasses as geeky as always. But in a good way, in a nice, good way.

"Hey Steph, how are you?" I asked him politely. I knew him through Callum, as he worked with Callum at the radio station and even had his own show, but now me and him were just as good friends.

"I'm very well thanks, and yourself?" He asked me as he set down his black, laptop-styled bags on one of the chairs, telling me that his show was after mine today.

"I'm good thank you. Looking forward to going home now."

"That's good then. A night to yourself?"

"Urm……..possibly. Just a night in front of the TV really. I'm not sure what Callum's doing tonight though." I shrugged carefree. I never really saw it as my place to ask him really either, that's why I never knew what he was up to.

"Ah well, have a nice night."

"Thank you and yourself." I smiled, grabbing my own backpack before heading out of the recording studio.

A curly haired Man with tight, black locks and a real tallness was stood outside the recording studio, talking to the manager. I smiled at Andy the manager and knew who the curly haired, young Lad was straight away.

It was Adam Mustoe, one of Callum's very best friend and as he stopped laughing and stared at me………..I knew why.

Because he never liked me anyway, because I had been hanging around with Callum too much as it was….clinging onto him you could say. Even after I'd moved on, I imagined that Adam still thought that I was clinging onto him by Callum deciding to move in together as mates.

"Have you seen Callum around?" Adam asked me as I walked through the main office, catching up with me walking.

"Urm, not since breakfast this morning, no. Anything I can do to help?" I asked him politely, imaging the response I was going to get to a question like that. I had kinda put my foot right in it.

"Are you going back out with Callum?" He asked me nosily, catching me by surprise with his question.

I stopped and turned to look at him, to see that he genially wanted to know the answer to that one. "Urm…no, we're just friends but-"

"Are you sure about that? I know he asked you to move in with him and you said yes and it's all going well and everything, but…….he still likes you. And I think you're playing on that." Adam commented sharply, even though he had it all wrong.

"I'm not playing on anything, I'm just his friend, he understand that-"

"Whatever. Just don't hurt him again………I'm his friend too and I've seen it all before." He warned me angrily, before storming off the other way as I watched him leave in complete shock.

He was completely out of order, because it had nothing to do with him and Callum had been the one to break up with me in the first place! He was so out of order for putting it like that, to me of all people.

"He was the one to break up with me, remember?" I shouted out to him angrily, but he totally ignored me as he headed into the recording studio.

I huffed angrily in response, and made my way out of the radio station, feeling absolutely livid now. I had been dealing with our past relationship, I had been happy to just be friends with him, but now…..now I was pissed.

I thought it was so rude of his friend to come over when I had been dealing with things the best that I could on my own anyway; like the whole Doctor thing, and me and Callum in the past and then…then he had to go and do that to me!

It was raining as I stepped out of the radio station so I put my hood up to stop my hair from getting wet, stomping out into the wet and the cold.

I quickly wiped away the angry tears that had started to fall from my eyes, because now I felt so mad and so guilty in-case what Adam said was actually the truth. What if I was just playing on Callum's feelings?

I pretty much knew he still had feelings for me, but I had wanted somebody to stay with me, somebody I trusted to move in with me. Was that too much to ask for?

I jammed the key into the door as soon as I got home, just desperate to get in and sit down now.

"Callum?" I called out as soon as I was through the front door, shutting the door closed behind me.

And I was so relieved that I got nothing back, no response, because it meant that I was alone like how I wanted to be right now. I left my rucksack by the side of the door, and went upstairs to go and get in the shower.

I walked into my bedroom to get my night clothes from the wardrobe first though.

I gasped in shock as I opened my cupboard door, stumbling backwards as I stared at the small Girl stood in the wardrobe. I knew I wasn't imaging this, or even dreaming it, this time…she was actually here.

The blonde Girl from my nightmares…she was actually inside my wardrobe, waiting for me to come home and find her.

She was only about four feet, and she looked around the age of seven like how she was in my nightmares. She looked so helpless with her head bowed down, and her blonde hair covering most of her pale looking face.

I couldn't see her eyes, but I instantly felt sorry for this little Girl. The same Motherly panic was back, desperate to resurface in me again. And it had; as soon as I saw this little Girl, it had resurfaced.

"What are…" I tried to find the words to put together, to find the courage to ask, but I couldn't. I wasn't brave enough to want to know the answers, not really. I wasn't sure I wanted to know anything that was going on anymore.

But then, if I brushed it under the carpet too, if I did what everybody else did, then…..surely, I was just as bad as everyone else? For not wanting to know, for not wanting to help or get to the bottom of this.

And I didn't want the same thing to happen to her, what had happened to me through the years either. I felt protective of this little Girl and I didn't even know why, not when I didn't even know who she was.

"Who are you?" I whispered in awe, trying to work out why I felt so protective of this little girl for. It didn't make any sense, it wasn't as though I'd got a little Sister or something like that. I didn't even know this little Girl.

Her head slowly started to pop up, and I waited there to see the face on this pretty, little blonde Girl. Except…when she looked up, her face was blank. No eyes, no nose, no mouth….just completely blank.

I screamed in horror, stepping back and stumbling over something or other on my bedroom floor. I gasped, crawling backwards now and watching with wide, horrified eyes as the little Girl stepped closer, trying to get closer to me.

I stared at her feet which were covered in soot, or at least it looked. She had the strangest sort of fashion, almost like Victorian style clothing on her, but anything was better than looking at that face, anything was better than seeing that emptiness.

"Please Charlie…help us. It's been so cold…….so many years spent locked away………please……please help us." The voice was the voice of the little Girl, the Girl still stepping towards me, but…..it sounded completely wrong.

It was the shadows, them same monsters and I knew then that I had to get away from here. It wasn't safe at all, despite how much I had once thought it was. I thought it had all disappeared; that the Doctor, the shadows, the monsters had all gone.

I was so wrong.

"No…no, just…….NO!" I jumped up from the floor as fast as I possibly could and ran back through my bedroom door, with that same horrendous voice right behind me. I tried to shut it out as I ran down the stairs, trying to picture anything besides what I just saw in front of me, but I couldn't get it out of my head.

I ran out the front door, locking it behind me before I ran out the garden, and I didn't stop running until I got out of my garden. I walked back into town, not wanting to go back home now, after what I had seen.

The walk cleared my head, made me see a bit more sense now that I was out of the house, and despite how chilly the evening air was, it was nice to be out of that damn house, after what I had just seen.

I walked into the forest and past it, stopping at the meadow deep within the forest, and as I sat down on the bench there….I thought I was safe again. I was wrong about that, though.

I looked up before gasping in horror as I saw the same Girl standing there, right across the field from me. And it was definitely her without a doubt, the same blank face which had me winching in response, and the same Victorian styled clothes.

And that same voice begging me to help them again, whoever _them_ actually was.

"Impossible," I breathed out in shock, remembering how I had locked the front door behind me when I walked out of the house, which told me that she couldn't have gotten out of the house. It was just impossible!

I ran back to the forest, away from her and that voice, still directly behind me, begging me to help. Why was I so important for? Why couldn't they just leave me alone, I was nobody, I couldn't help anyone!

I rushed through the forest, slamming my hands into tree branches to get them out of my face, all the while, looking back the whole time to see where that little Girl was. I knew she was following me, I knew she was stalking me…I could still hear that damn voice as if it was right behind me, following me.

And then, as I looked in front of me, she was there…right in front of me, making me scream in terror. She turned her face to the side curiously, which looked even stranger from where I was standing.

"Help us. Why won't you help us?" The little Girl cried, sending a shiver down my spine. Her voice sounded so cold now, like ice cold, and as I looked from side to side, she was everywhere. Everywhere I looked, I saw that little Girl…one, two…three of her!

"That's not…that's not even possible." I gasped out in horror, trying to take this all in the best that I could, but…I failed.

I stumbled backwards the best that I could without falling over, keeping my eyes on the little Girl the whole time that I did. The voices were getting stronger; all three of them were speaking to me now.

"Please help us…….we only want to come and play." They said cynically, sending another shiver of horror right down my spine.

And as I stumbled backwards some more, trying to get away from the three Girls coming towards me from the front…left and right…I gasped in absolute complete horror as I bumped into something hard behind me, expecting it to be another version of the little Girl.

So this was it was it?

This was how it was going to end, in a forest in the middle of nowhere, without anyone here to help me. I gulped sadly in response, thinking of all them times I had so desperately wanted to travel the World, and I had lost that opportunity.

I gulped on a lump that had been stuck in my throat before I could cry, and closed my eyes and waited…expecting to be hit over the head or whatever they had to do to kill me. I waited and waited…the voices still overcoming me, until I heard one particular voice right behind me, distinct from all the others…

"Run." The Male voice ordered, slipping a hand into mine and pulling me roughly. I gasped in shock, but I ran anyway; my automatic response to do what he said, when I suddenly realized my eyes were still closed.

I opened my eyes again, to see the Male figure running in front of me, holding my hand as we ran. No way…this couldn't be true….it just couldn't, it wasn't possible!

"Doctor?" I asked unsure, even though I knew already that it was him. It was the same Guy with the messy, dark brown hair, the same Guy with that tweed jacket, red bow tie, chequered shirt, blue navy trousers and black shoes.

But just as I had taken this all in, taken in the way that he was firmly holding my hand, still pulling me along with him…everything went black.


End file.
